A newborn Bigg's killer whale was spotted with its mother, Wake, last week. Photo: Tom Filipovic/Courtesy of Eagle Wing Tours and Pacific Whale Watch Association
A newborn Bigg's killer whale spotted near the San Juan Islands on March 20 has a strong connection to former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro, who died that same day.
Why it matters: The calf's mother, 14-year-old Sedna, is the granddaughter of Wake, an orca that Munro was instrumental in getting released from captivity in the 1970s, according to the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
Munro witnessed the capture of Wake and five other orcas while sailing in March 1976.
Outraged, he helped file a lawsuit against SeaWorld that led to the whales' release and permanently ended orca captures in U.S. waters.
The bottom line: Bigg's killer whales are thriving in the Pacific Northwest today and at least 30 of them, including the newest calf born to Wake's granddaughter Sedna, exist in part because of Munro's actions, per PWWA.
