Death at sea: speculation swirls over sonar
By SCOTT RASMUSSEN
Journal of the San Juans Editor
March 14, 2012 ? Updated 3:55 PM
With a body of evidence still under scrutiny, local biologists remain guarded about whether the recent death of a 3-year-old killer whale is the result of unnatural causes.
But some local killer whale experts are drawing their own conclusions.
?It didn?t die of disease or starvation,? Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research said of the young female killer whale, known as L112 at the center. ?Clearly the animal was blown up.?
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Balcomb has also listened to the hydrophone tapes, and said that the pings and series of explosions are strikingly familiar, adding that the U.S. and Canadian navies conduct training exercises in a federally sanctioned "bombing range" located just off the outer coast.
?I?m former Navy,? Balcomb said. ?I appreciate the value of training. But you don?t have to blow up the world in the process.?
