Penn Cove is a region near the coast of Washington State where orca whales long visited on their migrations. In 1970, however, that came to an abrupt end, until this year.

For the first time since a major human-caused issue, the orcas have finally returned. Fortunately, humans seem to have learned their lesson and on the return visit of these orcas, we took nothing but pictures.

So, what happened in 1970?

People have long known that orcas visited this cove during their migration, and many have enjoyed watching them come and go. On August 8, 1970, however, a major operation was put into place to attempt to capture orca whales so that they could be put on display in marine parks throughout the country.

This operation used speed boats, spotter planes, and explosives to herd over 80 whales into the cove so that they could be captured.

Seven whales were captured, and as many as five more drowned while in nets. Those who drowned were sunk to the bottom of the ocean in an attempt to conceal the brutality of the captures.

Included in the seven whales that were captured was Tokitae, who is often called Lolita. She spent over 50 years in captivity at Miami Seaquarium. Sadly, she died shortly before she was slated to be released back into the wild.

The trauma to the orca whales was so significant that they stopped coming into that area until this year.

One good thing that came from the event was the fact that so many people were exposed to the brutality that public outcry demanded that this type of thing be stopped. The result was Congress passing the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972.

This law made it illegal to capture marine mammals, including orcas, without first getting a special permit, which is rare.

Ocean Conservancy posted on X discussing why it took so long for the whales to return.

“Orcas are cultural animals [and] pass down information generationally. The whales that experienced captures in the 70s forever avoided the area & taught their offspring to avoid it as well.”

They went on to post about why they finally returned this year.

“One possible explanation is that there has been enough lapse in generations that the younger generation is more open to exploring new places. [I]t’s entirely possible that today they decided to duck into Penn Cove to get out of the wind gusts and rest.”

Whatever the reason, it is good to see that the orcas are finally starting to return. And it is good that humans are finally content to just observe these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.

Thank goodness capturing these whales is no longer allowed.

Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium