Animal lovers may recognize the name Penn Cove because of a gruesome incident in the area in 1970. During herding of over 80 orcsfive were killed and seven were captured.

It remains to be seen whether that horror remains fresh in the minds of the killer whales that swim through Washington state’s nearby waters. However, since the attack, mammals have notoriously avoided that fateful gulf.

However, in a surprising twist, the orca from the original 1970 bridge they were seen swimming in Penn Cove in November 2024.

Read on to learn more about what happened all those years ago it kept the whales awayand what it means to those who had the chance to witness their triumphant return.

Those five orcs were then “immersed” in the waters off the coast of Washington so that the organization responsible for capturing the whales does not have to include them in their final balance, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America (WDC) blog.

The tragedy and brutality of that day did not stop with the loss of life. The fishermen captured seven young calves, separating them from the rest of the pod shipped to different aquariumswhere they were exhibited.

One of the whales, a female by name Lolita, unfortunately, died in 2023 while still held in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita, who also went by the name Chinook de Tokitae, continued to use the calls that were unique to her pod during the 50 years she was separated from them.

As for the rest of its pod, they were added to the endangered species list under the US Endangered Species Act in 2005 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).