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WILL ORCAS WITHOUT SALISH SEA ANCESTRY BE ABLE TO SURVIVE/ADAPT TO SALISH SEA WATERS?

Yes, Orcas are incredibly intelligent and adaptable beings. While Orcas have unique behaviors for each part of the world they live in, they are all more similar than different. Orcas have the structure and function that will help them survive in the Salish Sea and surrounding waters of the Pacific Ocean.

HOW MUCH FOOD DO ORCAS EAT?

Adult Orcas eat on average about 200 pounds of fish per day. Feeding schedules and diets will be based on this and individualized for each Orca to ensure healthy weight.

WHAT WILL ORCAS EAT?

Wild-caught fish will be shipped to Sandspit where they will be stored in freezers. They will be thawed and delivered to the Sanctuary twice per day, morning and evening, for the Orcas' daily meals.

Live wild fish will be introduced as part to teach the Orcas how to hunt in preparation for the wild.

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HOW WILL CAPTIVE BORN ORCAS BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IN THE OPEN OCEAN?

Orcas will be rehabilitated in the Sanctuary to build their strength, become acclimated to the ocean environment, and take on a healthy weight. A training program will be part of their rehabilitation to teach or remind them how to hunt and reawaken their natural hunting instincts. Orcas are known to hunt as pods and as individuals. We will teach them how to hunt live fish.

HOW MANY ORCAS CAN BE ACCOMMODATED AT HAIDA GWAII?

Currently 12 Orcas could be comfortably accommodated in the large and deep Sanctuary cove.

WHEN WILL THE ORCAS BE RELEASED?

  • This will naturally vary from whale to whale as they are all individuals.

  • Upon completion of rehabilitation, Orcas will be allowed to decide when they want to leave. They will be taken out on boat walks, as done with Keiko (from the movie 'Free Willy') in Iceland. During boat walks, Orcas are led out of the Sanctuary by boat with human guides. They can follow the boat out and return to the Sanctuary at the end of the walk. If at some point they decide to venture out on their own, that is their decision. They will always be welcome to come back to the Sanctuary. There will be an open-door policy where Orcas can come and go as they please, receive food and medical care, and will be lifelong members of the Sanctuary family and always welcomed to stay as long as they need or want. Orcas who decide to stay at the Sanctuary and not leave on their own will be given lifelong nurturing, loving care.

  • The Orcas have been deprived from making their own life choices for their entire lives--stripped of their freedom. They will now be allowed to make their own choices at the Sanctuary.

  • Care will be focused on mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health including Indigenous ceremony.

  • Respectful communication and understanding will be established between Orcas and humans to facilitate healthy rehabilitation. This will also form the basis for knowing when and if it's time for them to venture out on their own.

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THE ORCA SANCTUARY WILL BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY?

  • The Sanctuary will bring increased awareness and understanding of the realities of colonialism, and the harms that have been done to Indigenous peoples and animals, as well as an opportunity to take collective action for dismantling of colonial systems of oppression and to bring healing. For example, the story of native Orcas mirrors the story of native children. During what has been termed 'the 60's scoop', Indigenous Orcas were stolen and locked in confined concrete prison tanks, just as Indigenous children were stolen and held in children's Indian Residential colonial assimilation institutions. In these horrific institutions, native children were forced to endure untenable conditions and abuse by the Church and colonial State, where thousands of Indigenous children did not survive. Similarly the Orcas have endured a parallel nightmare, the main difference being that some of these stolen Orca children are still circling their tanks at this very moment--waiting for rescue and emancipation to the freedom of the ocean.

  • Eco-tourism opportunities throughout the area, as Orca loving guests will come to supernatural Haida Gwaii and view the magnificent Orcas in Sanctuary while they are being rehabilitated, from a respectful, non-intrusive distance.

  • Local employment opportunities for Orca care team

  • Bringing healing and unity to the extended community.

HOW WILL THIS WHOLE PROJECT BE FINANCED/FUNDED?

  • Collaborations and Sponsorships with sports teams, athletes, corporations, organizations, and companies

  • Donations/GoFundMe

  • Donors/Philanthropists

  • Subscriptions

  • Adopt-an-Orca donation campaigns (e.g. feed an Orca per month/year and get regular updates about this Orca--pictures, sounds, stories, latest news/progression/behavior...)

  • Grants

  • Government wildlife programs

  • Indigenous granting

WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF THE ORCAS?

  • Veterinarian(s)

  • Consulting Orca experts

  • Orca care staff

  • Volunteers with backgrounds in marine biology/animal care and/or willing to learn

WILL THE SANCTUARY ONLY HOUSE ORCAS?

The Sanctuary could also rescue, rehabilitate, and release other marine mammals, such as other types of whales or cetaceans.

HEALTH & SAFETY

  • Health and Safety protocols will be implemented to ensure the health and well being of the Orcas and care staff

  • The Orcas will have regular veterinary checkups

  • An insurance plan will be purchased to cover emergencies

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