KITIMAT, B.C. — For the first time in more than 20 years, a beloved orca family has returned to nearby waters.
The Northern Sentinel reports the A5 pod, part of the northern resident orca population, has returned to the Broughton Archipelago north of Vancouver Island in B.C., which is their traditional winter hunting ground, and they have a new baby in tow.
The pod was raided a number of times in the 1970s as orcas were captured for aquariums.
Whales stopped coming to the Broughton Archipelago when a fish farm company started using acoustic harassment devices to deter seals in 1995.