Ralph & Karen – Orca Activism

The following is a transcript of the eloquent tribute given by Karen Munro Ellick at Ralph Munro’s memorial service on June 28th, 2025: 

 

Sunday, March 7, 1976, was an unusually warm spring day in Olympia and Ralph and I were heading out of the harbor on a friend’s sailboat.  Six of us were looking forward to a relaxing afternoon in the sun.  Then we saw a pod of orcas being chased by two large boats, a trawler and a gill-netter, and a speedboat, with a seaplane nearby.  We realized it was the Sea World capture crew, which had already taken 67 young orcas from Washington waters.  They sold them to marine parks around the country and overseas, including Australia and Japan, for $20,000 or more.

Bill Oliver, our boat’s captain, tried to get his boat between the orcas and the capture boats, while the men yelled and threatened us saying, “We have permits and we’re legal, you blankity-blanks!” The orcas started to escape, but the seaplane taxied back and forth and two men on the speedboat threw seal bombs (small explosives) into the water. They drove the terrified animals into the shallow bay and threw nets around them.  We were all very upset, but Ralph said, “We’re not going to stop them.  But we have to focus, watch and remember everything they do – it may be important later.”

So we watched the horrible scene for a few hours as the men separated the young orcas, which they wanted, from their family members, prodding them with long poles and screaming at them.  The anguished cries of the orcas were heartbreaking, especially as mothers and calves were separated. The freed orcas did not leave – they kept circling the nets and continued to cry back and forth.

We were all very depressed heading back to shore in the late afternoon, but Ralph and I decided our best bet was to contact  friends in the press.  Early the next morning Ralph picked up the Seattle P-I and yelled, ”We’ve won round one.  Mike Layton has written a hell of a good story.”  Television crews came to Olympia and filmed the orcas in the nets.  Soon it was a big news story and crowds of protestors came to the harbor.

Sea World’s timing for this capture was quite bad, because Ralph was on the staff of Governor Dan Evans and we were friends with Attorney General Slade Gorton.  Ralph contacted Evans and Gorton and they agreed that the situation should be investigated. 

Slade Gorton assigned three of his assistant AGs to study Sea World’s permit.  They found a key provision which had been violated: the orcas were to be allowed to swim naturally and not be forced to go in a certain direction.  Also the animals were to be treated humanely. Washington State filed suit against Sea World on March 10 and both sides presented their cases at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle, with many observers watching anxiously.

The six of us from the sailboat submitted affidavits about what we had witnessed, as did many people who lived on the shoreline between Tacoma and Olympia.  They said they had seen a pod of orcas swimming fast, ahead of two large boats and a speedboat which seemed to be chasing them. 

The legal arguments went on for several days, in and out of court.  Sea World had an army of lawyers and public relations people.  At one point it seemed that we had triumphed, but Sea World won an appeal and the hearings continued, while the orcas were still in the nets in the Olympia harbor.

However, the Sea World personnel were becoming concerned about their public image, and some negative information was coming out about previous captures, including the drowning of 4 young orcas which they had tried to cover up. Finally on March 23 Sea World signed an agreement that they would release the orcas and never again attempt to capture them in Washington waters.  The courtroom erupted with joy.

Ralph and I often talked about these events  over the years and agreed that the capture and trial were among the most significant events of our lives. We met people who became lifelong friends and we tried to help their efforts to save the endangered Southern Resident pods and to free Tokitae from the Miami Seaquarium, which sadly did not happen.

Sometimes the released captives were seen in local waters.  One female, named Wake and numbered T46, was seen often until two years ago.  She is now deceased but has 27 descendants, who would not have been born if Sea World had succeeded.  On March 20 this year, the day Ralph passed away, Wake’s granddaughter T46B3, was seen with her first newborn calf.  Ralph would have been very happy about that. 

 

Karen Ellick was married to Ralph Munro for a lifetime or two. She remains a cherished member of our family. 

 

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