The Spirit of Springer
the Real-Life Rescue of an Orphaned Orca
by Amanda Abler
illustrated by Levi Hastings
Little Bigfoot (Sasquatch Books), 2020. 52 pages.
Review written July 27, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review
The Spirit of Springer is in picture-book format, but it tells a sophisticated story of an orphaned baby orca who had traveled hundreds of miles from her pod and was rescued by scientists.
In 2002, a little orca on her own was discovered in Puget Sound, near Seattle. First, it took scientists to figure out where she belonged and which pod she had come from. Using her calls as well as other data, they determined that she was three hundred miles away from her family and that she was an orca who had been named Springer.
She was also in poor health and was not doing well on her own. The scientists also established that her mother was dead, but they needed to figure out how to get her back to her family.
This book tells about that endeavor, which was ultimately successful. It uses the perspective of two scientists who worked on the project, with notes in the back about many more people who were involved, along with more details about the pod where Springer belonged.
I expected a light-hearted, shallow story about saving an orca when I saw the cover. What I got was a detailed and inspiring story of the best efforts of humans to bring a little creature back to her family.
I thought it was especially fascinating how much is known about orca sounds and dialects. They know enough to be able to determine this when Springer was brought back to the waters of her family (in a holding pen until scientists were sure she was ready for release).
For a moment, Springer fell silent. This was the first time she had heard another orca calling in her dialect in over a year. She was so excited she could only make nonsense whale sounds, just like someone might scream, “Ahhh!” when surprised at a birthday party.
Besides giving so many scientific details, this book also is written with heart. You come to love Springer and cheer at the happy outcome.
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