Northern Resident Community, ranging some 250 miles north, a group rarely seen in the Puget Sound area. Resident killer whales leave the coast each fall; their migration routes are still relatively unknown. It was known that A45, a female killer whale from this community, and her calf A73 had not returned to Johnstone Strait the previous summer and were both feared to be dead. Through assessment of the orca's dialect, she was confirmed to be A73, offspring of A45, also known as "Sutlej." Orca fathers do not play a role in rearing their young, so Springer is considered an orphan. Her closest maternal relatives are other members of the matriline (subpod) known as A24, which is in the pod known as A4. A73 had been given the nickname "Springer" shortly after her birth. Like many of the region's killer whales, she is named after a geographical feature – Springer Point in southern Johnstone Strait. Health and welfare concerns Springer had developed a pattern of approaching and rubbing against boats, creating a high risk of being hit by a vessel in the busy area or capsizing a small boat. Robert McLaughlin, Robert Wood, and Michael Kundu of the Seattle-based group, Project SeaWolf, began regularly observing and tracking the calf on the water, documenting a number of orca-boat interactions, including potentially dangerous interactions with private boats and a Washington State ferry. The group captured surface and underwater video of the orca that they disseminated to the media, urging federal intervention. Springer's attraction to boats and floating logs was attributed to needing social interaction and touch. Dr. John Ford observed later that, "She didn't have whales to associate with down there, so boats sort of became a replacement for that for social reasons." Although Springer had been weaned from her mother and was able to forage on her own, she was underweight and in poor health, being malnourished, having ketoacidosis, worms, and an itchy skin condition. Orcas are highly social and form extremely strong family bonds. Resident orcas remain with their mothers and maternal relatives their entire lives. Public debate The orphaned orca's fate soon became a hotly debated public issue. Some feared Springer might be removed to a captive-display facility, even though a Stipulation of Dismissal in the 1976 lawsuit of Washington v. Don Goldsberry, SeaWorld, et al legally prohibited marine parks from capturing wild orcas in Puget Sound. Some argued that