Whale helps connect state to marine wildlife group
How did land locked Oklahoma get connected to a marine wildlife program in Coastal Washington?
Turns out, it's a whale of a tale.
Monday, t he Kirkpatrick Foundation announced a new partnership with a nonprofit Washington marine wildlife organization to support endangered Southern Resident killer whales and raise awareness about their plight.
In a virtual news conference, Louisa McCune, t he foundation's executive director, said the new year-long Oklahoma Killer Whale Project also includes a newly formed “sister community” connection between Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Des Moines, Washington, in honor of an intriguing and unique connection between the two cities.
McCune said she was one of numerous people around the world who heard about a killer whale that carried the lifeless body of her newborn calf on her rostrum for 17 days in 2018. Video footage of this mother in mourning captured global attention.
McCune said marine biologists and the media called it the whale's “tour of grief.”
McCune became intrigued over the summer when she learned that the orca was pregnant again and when she learned the whale's name: Tahlequah.
“Tahlequah, as I came to understand it, means` two is enough' and I instantly because obsessed in this year that needed some good news,” McCune said. She said her father grew up in Tahlequah and she has connections there with people like Ed Brocksmith, one of the leaders of a group called Save the Illinois River.
McCune l earned through research that the whale got its name from a Tacoma, Washington, ferry dock or terminal. The Tacoma Chamber of Commerce sponsored a contest
to name the terminal and eventually chose as the winner Ethel Whitfield, who proposed the name Tahlequah. According to the Kirkpatrick Foundation's research, Whitfield believed the name meant “water view” or “pleasant water” in Cherokee.
McCune believed creation of a program aimed at philanthropic, educational and conservation efforts might be a way to get Oklahomans “connected to these marine mammals far from the land locked Great Plains of Oklahoma.”
She reached out to Casey McLean, veterinary nurse and executive director of SR3 Sealife Response, Rehab and Research, to discuss a possible partnership to help endangered killer whales like Tahlequah. The nonprofit organization focuses on response, rehabilitation and research of local marine wildlife in the Salish Sea.
McLean said she was a little surprised to get a call from someone in Oklahoma about the killer whales but extremely grateful for the support of the
Kirkpatrick Foundation and the new collaboration.
She and McCune said the timing for the partnership is fitting because Tahlequah, the whale, gave birth to what appears to be a healthy calf in September. They said the new alliance is a great way to celebrate with the new mom.
McCune said she and McLean worked to create a double matching donation program to start off the new project. The Kirkpatrick Foundation will match new donations up to $20,000 under the SR 3Oklahoma Gift Program. McCun es aid SR 3 has a Washington- based anonymous donor who will match all of those dollars up to $40,000.
She said the Oklahoma City Zoo is one of the organizations that has expressed interest in the educational aspect of the project and other individuals and groups are welcome to join the effort.
“There's so much to tell you, so much evolving and so much to learn about these magical, mystical creatures and how and why Oklahomans can care for them,” McCune said. McLean agreed.
“A few months ago, I never would have dreamed of reaching out to a group in Oklahoma to help protect Southern Resident killer whales and I think it's incredible that Tahlequah's story is what brought us here today. She really touched the hearts and minds of so many people and it turned what we saw as her tragedy into something positive — not only for her but for the entire Southern Resident population,” McLean said.
“As I talked more to Louisa, it really impressed upon me that it's going to take more than just the folks who live near the Salish Sea and near these whales to ensure that they survive for years to come.”
Cities connect
Tahlequah Mayor Sue Catron and Des Moines, Washington, Mayor Matt Pina said they liked the idea of becoming sister communities in support of Tahlequah the whale and other marine wildlife.
Pina said Des Moines is the most accessible waterfront on Puget Sound between Seattle a nd Tacoma. He t hanked Oklahomans for their interest in the Coastal Washington area and the work of SR3.
“Because of that we strongly believe in the stewardship of the Puget Sound and the interface between land and sea so, with that, it's really been our pleasure to help SR3 build their marine mammal hospital, which I believe is the only one of its kind in the Northwest,” he said.
Cat ron said her city of Tahlequah has about 18,000 residents and is located in the foothills of the Ozarks, between Tulsa and Fayetteville, Arkansas. It's near the Illinois River and known for three large lakes. Tahlequah was named by the Cherokee tribal members who settled there after the Trail of Tears and it is the capitol of the Cherokee Nation.
Like McCune, Catron said she became aware of Tahlequah the whale when she saw the orca's “tragic story” on the news, but she was pleased to learn that a healthy calf had been born to the orca.
“We are just so happy to be involved,” she said.
A proclamation to establish the sister community relationship expressed the city of Tahlequah's excitement about celebrating the recent birth of the whale's new calf and joining with Des Moines in making “a significant step toward revitalizing a species near extinction.”
“And whereas the connection is celebrated between our own Tahlequah, a city where environmental and animal protection has a vibrant history, and whereas Oklahoma-based whale watchers look forward to building this connection between our landlocked marine enthusiasts and the coastal marine veterinarians in the Pacific Northwest,” Catron read from the the proclamation.
Meanwhile, Brocksmith, secretary-treasurer of Save the Illinois River, also expressed excitement about the new partnership. Catron said he came up with the idea for the sister community relationship. As a self-described advocate of Oklahoma's “scenic rivers,” he welcomed the new efforts as a way to join with new allies and friends from other parts of the country.
Brocksmith said he casually posted information about it on Facebook and got quick responses from about 25 people who wanted to be a part of the Oklahoma Killer Whale Project.
“We want to share the concerns with the public that we have and you have about clean water, about safe water and aquatic life,” he said.
“Folks, it's a black mark on us if we can't protect the orcas and Chinnock salmon and the minnows and the small mouth bass of Oklahoma's scenic rivers. Thank you— this is a whale of an idea.”
To make a donation to the Kirkpatrick Foundation's SR3Oklahoma Gift Program, go to https://www.sealifer3.org/ tahlequah