Saving Orca Killer Whales, Babies & Dish, Texas

I think I've mentioned that I read my old hometown newspaper, the Skagit Valley Herald, aka Go Skagit, online in the morning. I think I've also made mention of Washington Casinos previously.

This morning one of the headlines that caught my eye was "New Baby Orca Spotted in Puget Sound." There was an ad that the text wrapped around at the top of the story.

When I clicked on the link I was hoping to see a picture of the Baby Orca. When the page opened I instantly saw an Orca and just as instantly knew it was the Orca that swims in front of the Tulalip Resort Casino.

If I remember right there are 4 Killer Whale Pods in Puget Sound. The pods are tracked and the individual Orcas are assigned a number. The new baby was born into the L Pod. It's number is L-133. L-133 is the 4th Puget Sound Baby Orca spotted this year.

There are currently only 86 Orcas in Puget Sound, including the newborn.

L-133's mom is believed to be a 14 year old named Calypso. I don't know why Calypso gets a name instead of a number. L-133 would be Calypso's first baby. The baby daddy is unknown. First born Orcas do not have a good survival rate. Most die before their first birthday. A mom offloads a lot of toxic chemicals to her first born, both while in the womb and via milk.

A friend of mine, up in Washington, lives on Puget Sound, well, in a house facing Puget Sound, in Port Orchard. She was recently enjoying the view when an Orca Pod swam by. She was too caught up in enjoying the spectacle to run and get a camera.

My only encounter with an Orca Pod was also camera-free. I was out in the San Juan Islands in the northern part of Puget Sound, with my mom and dad. Suddenly Orcas came into view. We were dead in the water, fishing for cod. The Orcas were being very playful. There were 2 babies. The Orcas did not seem to care at all that we were there. They were on all sides of us. A couple of the Killer Whales got as close as 10 feet. It was like they wanted a closer look.

My Orca encounter occured a long long time ago, but I remember it vividly, as if it happened yesterday.

To landlubbing Texans, who would have no reason to know, Killer Whales do not have such a lethal name due to being a danger to humans. I believe the Killer Whale name came about due to how lethal Orcas are to the fish they like to eat, like salmon.

It is hard to believe now, but back in the 1960s the Killer Whales were a bit mysterious, not frequently seen. It was not known, for sure, how many were in Puget Sound. Then this guy, I forget his name now, started trapping Killer Whales and selling them to places like Sea World. You've probably heard of Namu and Shamu. They were kidnapped from Puget Sound.

It did not take long for the Washington public to put a stop to Orca hunting. There was a lot of outrage. It was from that point on that a lot better understanding of the Puget Sound's Orcas came to be. They have been listed as endangered since 2005. It has been a crime for quite some time now to do absolutely anything harmful to an Orca.

I wish Texas had more of an ethic where the public gets mad and makes clear that something has to stop. Like the environmental crimes that have occurred and continue to occur in and around Dish, Texas. The out of control, basically unregulated Barnett Shale gas drillers, using eminent domain to ruin Dish native's lives and livelihoods. Killing farm animals and trees. Polluting the air with noise and chemicals.

Is the State of Texas concerned about the welfare of the citizens of Dish? Is the Denton County government concerned? Do the people of Texas and Denton County care, other than those who live in Dish?

I can tell you with almost 100% certainity that if something as outragous as what is happening in Dish was happening in Washington. There would be demands coming from all sorts of directions to put a stop to it. There would be large protests. There would likely be sabatoge. There would be lawsuits. The media would turn a bright light on the evil wrong-doing. Wrong would be made right.

I've been here for 11 years now and I'm still no closer to understanding why Dish type deals happen in Texas with so little consequence and no one thrown in jail.