News Releases

Luna the solitary orca is performing for the microphone and his show is being picked up worldwide.

International researchers are listening to live Internet broadcasts of the orca through the LunaLive project, which uses a satellite uplink to broadcast sounds from a hydrophone in Nootka Sound.

Scientists from Canada, the U.S., Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia are listening in fascination as Luna picks up new vocal skills without a pod to teach him the language. The orca, who is almost six years old, turned up on his own in the remote inlet off the west coast of Vancouver Island four years ago.

This week, he put on an exceptional performance. On Thursday, between midnight and 6 a.m., researchers logged more than 130 separate calls, said Keith Wood, program administrator for LunaLive, a joint project of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation and environmental and scientific organizations.

"A lot of people thought solitary orcas would not vocalize, but his call repertoire changes every time," said Wood, noting it's usually easier to hear Luna at night, when there is less boat traffic.

Researchers believe Luna may have taken to playing with sounds -- varying calls depending on his mood and activity, Wood said.

"For example, one call, a quick ee-uu-wee kind of sound, is a call Luna uses frequently, but [Thursday] night, Luna kept adding an additional note to its beginning. It was quite entertaining."

- On the web: Samples of Luna's calls are available at lunalive.net