Pacific White Sided Dolphins top the
list today! At the bottom of all the Sightings reports there are some
links together with a request from Erin Ashe, one of the Dolphin
Researchers...take a look. The Transient Orca (Bigg's Killer Whales)
have done their highly tuned disappearing act, but there are
sightings reports below! Only Harbour Porpoise round out the cetacean
sightings report. As an aside, I had never mentioned an unusual
sighting of large, Monarch looking, butterflies flapping their way
across a couple of ocean channels....interesting. I had never seen
them do that before, but guess that's how they make those long
migrations. I also posted a photo of a very hot black bear looking
very satisfied as he was cooling off.
Keep your eyes open everyone – those
Orca went South of Mitlenatch, so they're around somewhere close.
Susan MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Transient Orca - Mom
T086A and Calf T086A3
July 13, 2012
Susan MacKay, SG Images
Pacific
White Sided Dolphins
July 15:
11 am 12 – 24 PWS Dolphins off
Fawn Bluff in Bute Inlet (seems to be a favourite spot for
them – SM)
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale
Watching
July 15:
11:30 am A larger group of about 50
+ PWS Dolphins at Sonora Point, Nodales Channel then heading into
Cordero Channel. They were really moving fast.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys
July 15:
11:40 am Another group of 8 – 10
PWS Dolphins heading inbound to Phillips Arm.
2:30 pm The large group of PWS
Dolphins are just off Hole in the Wall heading towards Dent
Rapids.
Pacific Yellowfin Tender
July 15:
4 pm 50 – 60 PWS Dolphins
still above Dent Rapids by Denham Island – looking sleepy.
Guess they're resting with full bellies.
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures
July 14:
9:45 am About 12 PWS Dolphins
foraging by Twin Islands
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures
Transient
Orca – Bigg's Killer Whales
July 14:
12 pm Orca spotted off Whiskey
Point, by Painter's Lodge, Campbell River heading South –
there's one big fin.
(Others had been searching the
myriad channels for the Orca, and of course they popped up close to
where they started from! - Sneaky Whales - SM)
Scotty, Painter's Lodge
July 14:
3 pm The Orca took their time to
get to the Red can buoy by Cape Mudge and started angling
towards Baker Pass. There was T20 and T090 for sure.
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures
July 14:
3:45 pm The Orca again changed
direction and are headed South towards Mitlenatch Island. They
picked up the pace and were abeam Mitlenatch Island at 4 pm. They
were still heading South.
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale
Watching
July 13:
6 pm Last sighting (reported) of the
Orca heading into Desolation Sound was by Roscoe Bay.
Pacific Yellowfin
Young Transient Orca
Headstand (on the Rocks?)
July 13, 2012
Susan MacKay, SG Images
Harbour
Porpoise
July 15:
2:40 pm 2 Harbour Porpoise in
the middle of Beazely Pass. Just milling.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys
July 14:
4 pm 1 Harbour Porpoise foraging in
Calm Channel.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys
Ahhhhhh! Satisfaction....
Black Bear Settling
into Cool Ocean Water
July 14, 2012
Susan MacKay, SG Images
Nice
Comments and Pacific White Sided Dolphin Information Request:
Dear
Susan, Thank you so much for your amazing blog posts! I'm from
the west coast and study Pacific white-sided dolphins in BC, but am
writing up my PhD thesis at the University of St Andrews in Scotland
at the moment. Your website and updates help me a lot when I'm
homesick, except when you post about all these dolphins I'm missing!
The main part of my thesis uses
photo-ID data (initially collected by Alexandra Morton, whose
catalogue I took over 5 years ago) to estimate abundance, trends and
survivorship. That project is described here:
But my thesis will include a chapter on
killer whale predation on dolphins (successful & unsuccessful
attempts), based on my first time witnessing that amazing event:
I am trying to pull together as many
observations of killer whales chasing, attacking, or killing Pacific
white-sided dolphins. I would be very grateful for any help you can
offer in (a) getting the word out about my search, and (b) putting me
in touch with people who have seen this (e.g., this amazing footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-9fdzhn5ic).
If people have individual ID photos (e.g.,
http://www.oceansinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/willson.jpg
) I'd be happy to compare them to my catalogue or Alexandra's
historic catalogue from the Broughton Archipelago.
My partner, Rob & I will be home
next week for field work in Johnstone Strait and the Broughton and I
can't wait to contribute our sightings to your network. Rob & I
work out of Pearse Island.
Thank you so much for your help. If you
think it would be appropriate, I can write something that you could
include in your next email update, or maybe you can think of a better
way to ask your audience for reports of killer whale attacks on
dolphins. It would be great to learn more about this amazing
species!!! Thank you again! All the best,
Erin Ashe