Whale’s grief must spark action

Re: “Grieving orca getting support from pod: scientist,” Aug. 2. The heart-breaking story of Tahlequah, the mother orca who has carried her dead calf for nearly a week in grief around the Gulf and San Juan islands should, if nothing else, spur our governments to action.

I thank the federal government for restricting sport fishing in the area where the orcas eat chinook salmon, as just a start, but obviously it’s not enough and it’s late. Federal, provincial and state governments have not taken significant action to help our resident orcas. There is plenty of blame to go around.

What will be done to help Tahlequah and her fellow orcas? Carrying her dead calf around for miles and miles indicates that she labours under an unbearable grief. Their funeral procession for the calf (as some on the Gulf Islands see this) is another indication that this pod is suffering and we must do something. We can only assume this is remarkable evidence of unbearable sadness in another being, larger than us, but no less important.

I assume someone else has asked our provincial government to step up to the plate, organize a high-level meeting of actors who can help the orcas. And that obviously must include our American neighbours.

Sure, there are enough orcas to entertain our visitors. But in the meantime, what can we do to save our whales? There isn’t a lot of time. Why does it take an orca grieving mother to drive us to do something? Virginia Watson-Rouslin North Saanich