| Springer back with her pod
The story of a small, emaciated female killer whale wandering alone off the coast of Washington State couldn't have ended any better if it were a movie. Five years after a massive effort by marine experts, volunteers and government officials in Canada and the USA, Springer is thriving with her family's pod.
 Dozens of people who helped in the calf's rescue five years ago returned to the same area on the northern end of Vancouver Island in hopes of spotting her once again, and she and her pod showed up as if on cue. The contrast from five years ago is remarkable as the whale was in bad shape, small, underweight and had a skin condition. The young orca should have still been on mother's milk, but her mother had vanished.
She's still small for her age, about the size of a four-year-old instead of seven but has settled in with a small pod which includes her great aunt and a newborn calf. She has no signs of different behaviours or any problems.
To be reunited with her family, Springer had to be captured and transported about 500 km by a private catamaran to the northeast side of Vancouver Island, near the tiny community of Telegraph Cove. Springer's experience is in direct contrast to similar efforts to move another whale. Luna, a male killer whale was found alone near Gold River, but was killed in 2006 by a boat propeller.
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