This summer two killer whales were spotted swimming into an ocean-fed lake off Prince of Wales Island and were stuck. The search for the whales required a partnership between scientists and the residents of the isolated island Coffman Cove town. Coffman Cove — with an additional help from whales’ mates.
It is possible to access Barnes Lake from the ocean but only at high tides with a small boat.
Doug Rhodes lives around the corner of Coffman Cove, an ex-logging town that has a winter population of about 100. He explains that the access points are the sole route to the lake. They’re only accessible to small boats during high tide.
“The North entrance appears similar to the class four rapids approximately two hours after tide, while the South entrance is more of a waterfall” Rhodes said.
So it came as a bit of a shock when two killer whales made their entrance into the lake the middle of August. Rhodes states that at first the public was more interested rather than concerned.
“It was a unique thing like “There’s whales living in Barnes Lake!’ Everybody decided to go off on their own” He said.
The window that opens at high tide is a bit narrow, and the entry points for the lake narrow. The whales weren’t able to leave by themselves. After a few weeks, people in Coffman Cove called the experts.
Mandy Keough from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration whale hotline to stranding gathered a group of scientists and researchers with previous experience with orca living strandings. They were worried about the condition of the whale’s body. The lake is freshwater-fed and therefore less salubrious than the ocean and orcas require salt water in order to live.
Jared Towers is a killer whale specialist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. He claims he realized there was a chance that whales could leave on their own, however there was a second possibility.
“They die the middle of nowhere,” he said. “And they die slowly since they’re dying of hunger.”
It’s because these were the Bigg’s killer whales. They feed on mammals but not fish. Barnes Lake is full of salmon, however there are not a lot of seals or sea lions.
The team of response decided that the best chance of bringing the whales out was to do it during the major tides of the latter part of September, which is only just a few weeks from now.
They’d require boats in the lake more than 12. The researchers also suggested that they need minimum three persons on each boat. This means that about half the population could be in the water. Rhodes states that it was not a issue.
“As it grew, the enthusiasm in the town was increasing, and people wanted to get actively involved” He said.
They would make use of nets in the waters that whales use as barriers. They would also herd whales with sound by submerging steel pipes into the lake and banging the surface. Each one required specialized equipment, which volunteers built using what they were able to find in the town.
The locals informed the scientists of the health of the whales with pictures. Through the images, Towers was able to determine the whale’s identity being T051, which is a 42 year old male and T049A2, 16-year-old male. Towers was even able to identify which whales they had traveled with previously. Additionally he could have actual recordings of the traveling companions. They could play the recordings in the water to lure whales that were trapped in the water towards the sound, which is known as “playback.”
Chloe Kotik is studying Bigg’s killer whales to earn her doctorate in the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She believes that barrier nets, as well as the sound of pipes made of steel are stressful for whales. She suggests that playbacks are extremely efficient, but they can also be extremely stressful.
“When when you listen to a recorded from a killer whale, which doesn’t exist to they, it’s like watching ghosts,” Kotik said.
Kotik and Towers were joined by two other scientists just days prior to the high tides. Six weeks after the whales were first spotted fourteen small boats sailed in Barnes Lake.
Towers and Kotik initiated the playbacks, which enticed whales towards their north-facing channel. The boat’s crew members hit the pipes that were submerged to encourage them to continue their journey.
It appeared at first that it was working. The whales responded to playbacks with a breach and then slapping at the waters with stories. They listened for the sound, and swam into the north channel. The boats brought nets down to prevent whales from returning. However, a kelp-like bed was blocking the entry point of the channel.
The clock was ticking and the tide was out. Towers claims they were aware that they had only one shot of the day.
“If this whale and the other did not get over the thick kelp, our time was up,” he said.
The larger whale then changed direction and returned to the lake, completely ignoring the nets as well as the sound emanating from pipes. The smaller whale followed to follow. Towers mentions that even boats could be at risk of being stranded within the lake. Rapids were beginning to form within the channel.
“We have just radioed our friends and told them, you know we’ve got to finish our time,” he said.
Kotik states that according to the forecast for weather the team probably only had one more day before they could get whales out. More importantly she was concerned that they’d already pushed to much of the volunteers.
“These people from Coffman Cove have already given us a lot of their time, energy, as well as their assistance,” she said. “And we couldn’t even get them out until today. How many times can we really ask them? And are they willing to assist us by helping us out?”
However, when they reached Coffman Cove’s dock Coffman Cove, the volunteers were waiting to plan their plans for the following day.
“It was like lifting a weight lifted off my shoulders when I realized that Oh my God they’re still alongside us” the woman said. “They don’t have lost confidence in us. They’re not giving up hope.”
The next day, they began at the south entry point which was clean of the kelp. The next time, whales heard replays they knew that it was on working. Rhodes Fecko and Rhodes Fecko were on a boat equipped with nets.
“And the whales jumped out of the middle and played this playback. And we looked up and could saw whales approaching us and they were speeding up while Rhodes was playing whale sounds” Rhodes said.
“There was a bow wave in front of the whales. They were making a booking!” laughed Fecko.
When they sped towards the playback of their companions they cried out. The underwater microphones of scientists heard the sound.
“We were standing around listening to whale sounds in the ocean as they went close by. Oh geez it was a raucous crowd whooping, hollering and cheering. There were a lot of crying.”
As they approached the southern entry point, one the whales swam into the water.
They were required to wait to set up the nets until they were both over and inside the channel.
They took the nets out in the ocean behind whales. However, Rhodes claimed that it didn’t seem needed.
“At this point, the people were probably at ten knots. They didn’t think twice about it, they jumped right out of the area,” said Rhodes.
The playback boat accompanied the whales in the channel. The southern entrance is long, turbulent and the rocks are a bit rocky. Towers claimed it took about 10 to 15 minutes to cross the entrance.
“I was shivering for a while,” he said. “I thought to myself: ‘Okay, when they’re over the maple tree, we’re done,’ since there’s a beautiful, huge Canadian maple tree along the shoreline at the end of the channel south.”
They walked past the maple. They swam, to Lake Bay, and then beyond. The boat was there for a few hours.
Kotik said they weren’t sure how they would adapt to their independence.
“Then we noticed a sort of change into a more peaceful, focused swim,” she said. “And I would guess this was due to the fact that they were beginning to hunt. That moment of noticing the shift was such an exhilaration of “I truly believe they’ll be fine.'”
Towers and Kotik skimped around towards Coffman Cove. The party was that was in full swing. Doug Rhodes and Cheryl Fecko claimed that the local bar had plenty of patrons on the night.
“You didn’t in the bar. The bar was full of chatter,” said Fecko.
“The bar was buzzing with people. Everyone was in there. I’m not sure if scientists had a drink the night before,” laughed Rhodes.
Scientists aren’t certain exactly where the pair are however they are likely to eventually be seen. Researchers monitor killer whales via photos submitted by scientists as well as civilians.
