The Stranding of CA189
On Wednesday, Jan 2, 2002, residents of the cliff above Dungeness Spit reported an orca whale, apparently dead, stranded on a low lying sandbar in a marshy area just south of Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Another orca, a male, was nearby in shallow water, alive and staying close to the dead female, assumed to be its mother. Volunteers tried to escort the male out to deeper water, but as dark came on he was still inside the Spit & swimming sluggishly. By the next day, both orcas had been identified by the shape of the saddle patch below their dorsal fins. They were members of a transient pod last seen in a group of ten whales in Coos Bay, Oregon, on September 12, 1996. Originally spotted off the California coast, they had been given identifying numbers CA188 for the male and CA189 for the female, who we now call "Hope."

To bring Hope to dry land, volunteer divers attached buoys to her pectoral fin to make the body float and then towed her several miles to a boat ramp.  She was then pulled from the water and a necropsy (marine mammal autopsy) was performed to determine the cause of death.

There seemed to be no single cause: no apparent injuries or illness, nor had she starved. Samples of body parts were taken for further analysis and the head was removed for an MRI, to determine whether there had been any damage possibly caused by sonar.

CA188, the Young Male Orca
While the necropsy and removal were taking place, another group of scientists and volunteers focused their efforts on helping the male move to deeper water.  He repeatedly rolled out of the rope harness used, each time returning to the shallows.  During two consecutive nights the tide went so far out that he spent several hours completely out of the water.  Wet sheets and blankets, along with hundreds of bucket-loads of water helped maintain the whale through those two difficult nights. Regional television stations and the press covered these events as they unfolded.

On Friday, January 4, the rescuers finally succeeded, using a special sling borrowed from the Vancouver Aquarium.  During this sixth attempt, CA188 was lethargic but not uncooperative as he was towed to open water. Within seconds of being released from the towline, CA188 began to swim under his own power. It took just a few minutes for his dorsal fin to straighten up significantly. With each passing minute, the whale seemed to regain strength as he slowly picked up speed and began to swim directly out the Strait of Juan de Fuca towards the Pacific Ocean.

Before CA188 was released, aTime-Depth Recorder (TDR) was attached by suction-cup to the back of the whale.  It stayed attached for nearly 3 days, providing researchers with detailed information about the animal's surfacing and dive patterns.A final TDR signal was received on January 8, from a spot southwest of Neah Bay, Washington; it is assumed that the recorder fell off at some point after that.  CA188 has not been seen since that time; no conclusions are drawn from this fact, since transient orcas cover a very large territory. It is not unusual that an individual is not seen for several years..

Disturbing Results from the Laboratory
By May, 2002, laboratory tests yielded further information. The body of Hope contained a level of PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) contaminants among the highest ever measured in orcas.  PCBs are industrial products widely used in electrical equipment until they were banned in 1977. The PCBs may have entered the food chain after being dumped directly into streams or bays, or as a result of leaking storage containers or landfills. These contaminants are first absorbed by microscopic plants and animals, which are then eaten by larger animals, and ultimately concentrate in the bodies of top predators like orca.

Surprisingly, the her body also contained large amounts of DDT, an insecticide used in agriculture until it was banned in1972.  Both DDT and PCB persist and move in the environment.Transient orcas, such as Hope, eat seals and other marine mammals high on the food chain and therefore accumulate more of the contaminants in their bodies.  When the amounts of these toxics in Hope's body were compared to those in Southern Resident Killer Whales necropsies of the past, it was found that this orca had 400 times the amount of DDT and 100 times the amount of PCB’s.

The story of Hope is a dramatic reminder of the issues of toxic contamination facing marine species, and a warning that these contaminants are undoubtedly affecting many land-based species as well, especially those at the top of the food chain – including human beings.