Springer the whale now a 'normal orca'

SEQUIM, Wash., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A solitary, sick whale with a liking for boats found in 2002 now thrives as a "normal orca" with a pod of whales in the Johnstone Strait off Canada's coast.

Marine protection group Project Seawolf said the orca named Springer apparently was orphaned before making its way to Washington's Puget Sound, the Port Angeles Peninsula (Wash.) Daily News reported.

There, the whale was found three years ago -- alone, ill and having developed an affinity for small boats and a ferry.

As a member of the northern orca population, Springer was not accepted by the southern whale group, the newspaper reported.

Springer was rehabilitated and moved to Johnstone Strait in July 2002, where she was accepted by a pod of seven orcas.

"The rehabilitation and relocation of (Springer) is unprecedented and an unequivocal success," Sequim, Wash., Marine Veterinarian Pete Schroeder said in a report on a recent inspection. "She is a normal orca in her natural environment."