The Killer Whale That Changed the World – the story of Moby Doll and the accidental orca capture that changed everything between humans and orcas – was created for CBC Radio’s Ideas by Skaana host, Mark Leiren-Young and produced by Yvonne Gall. It originally aired on CBC in 2013, won the Jack Webster Award for Best Radio Documentary and sparked the award-winning book, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World, which is currently being adapted as a feature documentary. This episode is being shared with the permission of CBC Radio.

One of the goals of this audio documentary was to capture the stories of the men who remembered Moby Doll while they were still able to share them. Four of the people interviewed here – Dr. Murray Newman, Dr. Patrick McGeer, Christopher “Gus” Angus and Kenneth “Gilbey” Hewlett are no longer with us. We are sharing this in their memory.

Other featured interviews:

Dr. John Ford joined Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2001 as the head of the Cetacean Research Program at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, BC. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Zoology and the Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia. Dr. Ford has been involved in field studies on cetaceans in western Canadian waters since 1977. In recent years, his research has focused on the conservation status of cetaceans listed under Canada’s Species-at-Risk Act and has involved population abundance estimation and development of acoustic tools for determining seasonal abundance of cetaceans in remote offshore waters.

Dr. Charlotte Epstein is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. She is the author of The Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of An Anti-Whaling Discourse.

Richard Blagborne was the convener of the 2013 Moby Doll Orca Symposium: Reflections for Change on Saturna Island. Blagborne initiated and led the restoration of the Fog Alarm Building which was scheduled for demolition as part of federal lighthouse de-staffing programs. The building has been completely renovated and now houses storyboards, a media centre, historical photos and written archives charting the island’s history.

The host is Paul Kennedy.

The orca speaking off the top of this episode – and every episode of Skaana – is Moby Doll.

“When you go to Africa, you wanna see the lions and the Serengeti, and when you come to British Columbia, you wanna see the killer whale.” – Murray Newman

Made in Canada, eh 🍁

The Killer Whale Who Changed the World audiobook  on Audible and Spotify

Skaana on social media:

Mark on social media:

4:26 The Killer Whale That Changed the World

5:50 The hunting party.

6:35 A recreation of the actual CBC TV newscast the night Moby Doll was captured. “The pugnacious dangerous monster.”

8:30 Dr. Murray Newman on the accidental capture.

9:45 What people used to “know” about killer whales. “The fiercest most terrifying animal, lives in the sea, not on the land…”

14:18 Machine guns vs. orcas.

15:20 “The killer whale was considered too dangerous ever to be brought into captivity.” Dr. Murray Newman.

17:14 “Don’t shoot it! We’ll just wait and decide what to do.” Dr. Pat McGeer the “brains” of Operation Killer Whale

24:09 John Ford on learning to speak whale.

24:58  Dr. Charlotte Epstein on how Moby changed the way we see whales.

27:28 Creating a whale dictionary.

31:00 Orcas on a rescue mission to save Moby Doll?

32:09 The name – Moby Doll – changed everything.

34:00 Chris Angus on meeting Moby as a teenager and joining the team as an orca-sitter.

37:40 A CBC interview with sculptor and “whale-sitter” Sam Burich as he hangs out with Moby Doll.

40:28 Moby Doll is dead.

47:00 Richard Blagborne on the symposium on Saturna Island commemorating Moby Doll’s capture.

48:52  ”When you go to Africa, you wanna see the lions and the Serengeti, and when you come to British Columbia, you wanna see the killer whale.”

51:26 How Moby Doll changed the world.

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