Whale Tale: The True Story of the Tragic Capture, Mysterious Escape, and Lasting Legacy of an Extraordinary Orca Family

A gripping work of narrative non-fiction that tells the astonishing true story of how a family of whales changed our relationship to the sea.

In 1970, an extraordinary orca pod was captured near Victoria, BC. Nicknamed the Pedder Bay 5, this family of transient whales quickly became world famous. Why? Because one of the orcas was white, and is still considered to be the rarest ocean mammal ever caught alive. 

Due to human intervention, the trajectories of these incredible animals went in two very distinct directions: as public outrage mounted and activists mobilized, one whale died in secret while two others were shipped to aquariums. But on one rainy night in the late fall of 1970, somebody snuck down to Pedder Bay and allowed the two remaining orcas—who had already been sold to an aquarium under construction in Texas—to escape.

These two whales returned to their instinctual ways and flourished back in the wild, their family continuing to grow. Because of that mystery activist, who was never caught or identified, eleven orcas have been born into the wild that otherwise would have never existed. Today, many orca populations are thriving, largely thanks to the commitment of activists and scientists a generation ago.

Whale Tale is a story of hope with a cast of myriad characters: humans and whales, heroes and villains, scientists and scoundrels, along with secret burial sites, confessions, and an epic mystery that has endured for over fifty years.