Orcas or killer whales have an enormous range, inhabiting all of the world’s oceans.
They are also found in the Southern Ocean off much of the coast of Antarctica.
Rarely are they sighted off the coast of Oregon, and whenever they do, they usually make news.
A man poses with Ethelbert after it was harpooned by Edward Lessard and his son Joseph.
Boat operators offered the onlookers a chance to get closer to the animal.
The orca even attracted the unsavory types, some of which tried to shoot the animal with rifles.
They were promptly arrested and Governor Julius Meier ordered that the orca be protected.
Given the media attention, it became necessary to give the orca a name.
The Oregon Humane Society opposed this idea, considering any capture to be inhumane.
Instead, they believed that the orca should be euthanized to end its suffering since it was clearly dying.
Additionally, the gunshot wounds on the orca’s back were becoming infected.
Other opinions suggested leaving Ethelbert to face its fate without human interference.
Yet some others favored a rescue.
It was the quickest killing I ever made, Lessard boasted to the Oregonians reporter.
Usually it takes half a day or a day to kill a whale.
This one was dead as a doornail in less than five minutes.
The Portland public was outraged at the killing.
A naturalist and former Oregon state game commissioner, William L. Finley, said: The public was cheated.
This was wanton destruction of wildlife and ought to be punished.
Charges were brought against the Lessards for violating fishing laws and outraging public decency and morals.
TheIdaho Statesmanpainted the Lessards as the meanest men in the world.
The state appealed the courts decision to the Oregon Supreme Court.
The court agreed and ordered Lessard to return the whale to the state or pay $1,000.
For four years, Edward Lessard staunchly held onto the whale, not willing to give it up.
Without hesitation, Lessard paid the sum, securing legal custody of Ethelbert’s preserved remains.
In 1939, the Lessards moved the whale to an orchard property they owned near St. Helens, Washington.
Inside the tank was Ethelbert.
Without the formaldehyde which had kept Ethelbert preserved for almost two decades, the carcass began to stink.
The Lessard family buried the remains in a forested area in Clark County.
