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CNN Live Today

Whale Awaits Boat Repair

Aired July 12, 2002 - 11:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to go ahead and bring Lilian Kim in. She is standing by in Manchester in Washington state with the story of this little whale, 2 years old. They think she got lost when her mother died, and they have been able to help her, Lilian, but now they can't quite get her home today, maybe.

LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. They are having mechanical problems with that catamaran that is supposed to be taking her to Canadian waters. That catamaran is experiencing mechanical difficulties. It is going about half the speed it is capable of going, and that is too slow for organizers of this trip. They want a very fast boat to get her there very quickly.

As for the whale, she is currently residing in the net pen behind me, and she appears to be in great shape, ready for her long journey home.

Her worms are gone, so is her bad breath and her itchy skin condition has disappeared. Crews call her -- scientists call her A73, but she is also known as Springer or Boo, short for Baby Orphaned Orca. The two year old killer whale first appeared near Seattle in January after being separated from her family, around the time of her mother's death. Last month, scientists captured the orca, then put her in the sea pen to give her medical attention.

They took blood tests, a urinalysis, a gas analysis, and skin biopsies and they all came out perfectly clean. She does not carry any contagious diseases that could put the Canadian orca population at risk.

Now, with her clean bill of health, she is scheduled to embark on a 350 mile-long journey to Canadian waters, to the northern end of Vancouver Island. That's about an 8-hour ride, and when she eventually arrives, if the boat ever gets fixed, she is going to be placed in a net pen. Scientists will then release her after her grandmother's pod is spotted in the area. But at this point, nothing is going to happen until that boat is ready to go, and at this point, it is still being looked at very carefully by crews -- Daryn.

KAGAN: So Lilian, it's clearly not the most important thing you need to report, but here is what I am wondering. How do you know if a whale has bad breath?

KIM: Well, they got very close to the whale, and they were able to smell it. And what it had was a paint thinner-like smell, and that is called ketosis, which is a sign of digestive problems. That has apparently been fixed, and she is ready to go.

KAGAN: I knew that. And another thing, all this travel sounds very nice. It also sounds kind of expensive. Who is paying for this trip?

KIM: The Canadian government is partly paying for it, as well as the U.S. government, but a significant chunk of it is being paid for by private donations. She has become a celebrity here in the Seattle area, and a lot of people are pouring in their own money because they want her to go back to Canada and try and reunite with her pod. People have grown very attached to this animal.

KAGAN: Well, it is a nice story, and we wish her well, and wish the boat well. Meanwhile, Springer the whale resides in the crown room. She is in the lounge, waiting for things to get all fixed up.

Lilian Kim in Manchester, Washington. Thank you. We will be in touch to see how this journey is progressing.

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