Poor Luna

Luna the killer whale died yesterday after getting sucked into the current of a big tug's propellor.

The poor whale got separated from its pod in 2001 and has been a resident of Nootka sound, in British Columbia, ever since. The whale was apparently very friendly, even rubbing up against boats - and sometimes breaking bit of the boats off!

A couple of years ago a group of scientists were going to try and reunite Luna with his pod, but a local First Nations community - who believe Luna embodied the spirit of their dead chief - lured the whale away from the scientists.

Seems funny to me that they would do this: after all, (I might be making sweeping, erroneous assumptions here) - I thought First Nations would be more in tune with the cycle of life and death, and would be less likely than the rest of us (materialistic, self-centred?) North Americans to believe that manipulating someone's spirit to get our way is possible. Besides, if he really was the spirit of the chief, wouldn't he have found his way back to Nootka sound despite any scientific efforts?

I wonder how they're feeling now?