Acoustics

In July of 2003, Luna moved further into Nootka Sound, presumably to follow food sources. He ended his journey in Matchlee Bay, near Gold River, British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately 30 nautical miles from Nootka Sound to Gold River.

The map below shows that, if the L Pod were to enter Nootka Sounds, their calls would be 15-20 miles short of reaching Luna's ears. If Luna does not move from the Gold River area, he will never hear the calls from his pod again because the L Pod never travels further inland than Nootka Sound.

Courtesy of John Halliburton

During the spring of 2004, Luna spent much of his time near Moyaah Bay, southeast of Bligh Island. If his any Southern Resident orcas swam by Nootka Sound in the open ocean, it is likely that Luna would have heard them. However, it is believed that the closest any SR orcas came was about 60 km, still out of vocal range.

In the winters of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Luna is spending much of his time within acoustical range of the open ocean. If any Southern Residents area in the area, he may hear them. However, he would have a much better chance if he was closer to the open ocean. There are many NGOs who support leading Luna closer to the open ocean, however the Canadian Government has not authorized them to do this yet.