Springer the orphaned orca reappears off B.C. coast with a family of her own

VANCOUVER – An orphaned killer whale who made headlines around the world when she was reunited with her pod off the coast of British Columbia has re-appeared — with her own thriving calf in tow.

Whale researchers spotted Springer this week in the Inside Passage off B.C.’s North Coast.

Springer — or A73 — was the first orca to be rescued, rehabilitated and successfully released back into the wild in 2002.

She was a two-year-old when she was found near Seattle, ailing and separated from her pod of northern resident killer whales.

Springer and her calf — A104 — were first seen last year and the latest sighting is reassuring to biologists that the young whale has survived the most dangerous period of life for the animals.

Lance Barrett-Lennard from Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Research Program says both whales appear healthy and robust.

The northern resident pod that remain year-round in the coastal waters of central and northern B.C. are listed as endangered in Canada.