Orca and Dolphins. Possible sighting of
the A8's with the new calf still close to Powell River – Cortez
Island area with some other Orca making an appearing / disappearing
act, like Transient (Bigg's) tend to do. Without identification, the
reports are again under the generic Killer Whales list. A few Pacific
White Sided Dolphins have also made a brief appearance.
In the News section below has the
reports with updates on the ice trapped Orca and the dead Orca calf.
Susan MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Northern Resident
Killer Whales A8's with new calf
Tight formation off the
NW tip of Texada Island
January 2, 2013
Anne Baker, Powell
River
Killer
Whales – Orcinius Orca
January 9:
3:20 pm 2 or more Orca off Kelsey Bay
dock – heading South-East.
Anonymous
January 9:
10:15 am Spotted 3 female Orca
Northbound off Westview, Powell River so grabbed gear and hopped in
boat to see if I could find them. It is a big ocean, and they just
vanished. Spent a couple of hours searching. Even the flat calm
waters had only a few ripples from seals and birds. I dropped the
hydrophone in a few times and thought I heard some distant vocals,
but the ferries and other boat noise made it impossible to
distinguish clearly.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC
January 8:
1:30 pm Working on Hernando Island we
saw 3 Orca, a big dorsal, smaller one and a calf with some orange
colouring on it (sign of newborns - SM). They came right up to
the shore and were rolling around and looked like they were rubbing
on the beach by Dog Bay. There was possibly a fourth, but there were
the 3 for sure. It was an awesome show, but we had to leave after 45
minutes. We left them just hanging out in the bay. (Possibly A8's?
- SM)
Chris Murdock, Cortez Island
Transient (Bigg's) on
the Sea Lion Hunt
Denman / Hornby Island
January 1, 2013
Anne Baker, Powell
River
Pacific
White Sided Dolphins
January 5:
Between 8:30 and 9:30 am saw around 10
PSW Dolphins off Vivian Island from the Comox-Powell River ferry.
They were headed North-West.
Mike Mastrodonato, Powell River
In
the News:
January 9:
A pod of around 12 Orca are trapped in
the ice of Hudson's Bay, in Northern Quebec. Rumour had it that an
icebreaker has been sent to try to break up the ice for a passage for
them. But looking up latest news reports, as at 1 hour of writing
this, the DFO has only sent someone “to assess the situation”. No
word yet as to the outcome, but reports also state that the extreme
cold is causing the hole to shrink. The link to the article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57563182/quebec-community-calls-for-help-freeing-whales-from-ice/
The same company, Kasco, who kept the
ice open for the Gray whales in 1988 prompting the movie “The Big
Miracle” is making arrangements to do it again for these Orca!
January 9 update:
Necropsy is underway for the newborn
Orca calf found washed up on Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Penninsula
on Monday, January 7th. Link to article:
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Newborn+killer+whale+found+dead+Olympic+Peninsula+just+south+waters/7790325/story.html
Transient (Bigg's)
T124's
Denman / Hornby Island
January 1, 2013
Anne Baker, Powell
River
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