Namu (orca)

Namu was only the second orca (killer whale) displayed in an aquarium exhibit (after Moby Doll) and was the first orca to perform with a human together in the water.^[1] He was the subject of much media attention, including a 'starring' role in a movie, that changed some people's attitudes toward orcas.

In June 1965, William Lechkobit found a 22 foot (6.7m) male orca in his floating salmon net that had drifted close to shore near Namu, British Columbia. The orca was sold for $8,000 to Edward "Ted" Griffin, owner of the Seattle Marine Aquarium,^[2] but it ultimately cost Griffin much more to transport the orca 450 miles in a floating pen to Seattle.^[3] Namu was a popular attraction at the Seattle aquarium, and Griffin soon captured a female orca to be a companion for Namu. The female, named Shamu, was however soon leased and eventually sold to SeaWorld in San Diego. Namu survived just over one year in captivity and died in his pen on July 9, 1966.^[4]

It was later discovered through preserved recordings of his calls that Namu was from C1 Pod,^[5] one of the best known Northern Resident pods. He was thus given the alphanumeric code C11. It is suspected that the matriarch, C5, who died in 1995, was his mother.^[6] As of February 2010, Namu's presumed sister Koeye (C10) is still alive.

The United Artists film Namu, the Killer Whale (a.k.a. Namu, My Best Friend) was released in 1966 and 'starred' Namu in a fictional story set in the San Juan Islands.^[7] The name "Namu" was also later used as a show-name for different orcas in SeaWorld shows.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ The National Geographic, March 1966 (page 418-446)
2. ^ WGBH Frontline: "Edward 'Ted' Griffin, The Life and Adventures of a Man Who Caught Killer Whales". Accessed 28 March 2008
3. ^ Whitehead, Eric, "Conversation-starved Killer In A Salmon Net" Sports Illustrated 1965 July 12. Accessed 6 June 2010.
4. ^ M. L. Lyke, "Granny's Struggle: A black and white gold rush is on", Seattle P-I, Wednesday, October 11, 2006 link Accessed 27 March 2008
5. ^ OrcinusOrcas.nl
6. ^ Francis, Daniel and Hewlett, Gil, "Era of the Orca Cowboys" (The Tyee). Accessed 2 February 2010.
7. ^ Film, "Namu: My Best Friend" (a.k.a. Namu the Killer Whale) at imdb.com

External links

• Excerpt from "Apetalk & Whalespeak: The Quest of Interspecies Communication" by Ted Crail. Contemporary Books inc. Chicago 1983
• "Captive killer whale Namu arrives in Seattle on July 27, 1965", Washington State Historylink.org
• "Era of the Orca Cowboys" article by Daniel Francis and Gil Hewlett in The Tyee webzine, May 16, 2008