All
of us at Whales and Dolphins BC / Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)
would like to wish you and yours the very best for the Holidays. An
extra huge thank you to all who report sightings and help support our
efforts. We couldn't do it without you!
There
have been few reports and even those of us who are constantly on the
look out have seen minimal activity. It is a big ocean but these
whales, dolphins and porpoise are out there ... somewhere. These huge
tides have been producing a fair bit of debris in the water. The
debris occasionally looks like a possible sighting from a distance.
Watching for a few moments for a blow or movement usually clarifies
if it's just debris or a resting animal.
In
the report below we have a good example of why every
report is valuable. One person may only see one or two animals where
another person sees six or seven. We're often told, after the fact,
that someone must have already reported the sighting, which isn't
always the case. This makes attempting to get identification of
specific animals difficult. Another bit of information, which can
sometimes help us determine who the animals are, is any distinctive
markings or number of big dorsals (adult male Orca) versus small ones
in the pod. We also like to hear when animals change direction. This
is helpful in understanding current foraging habits. For most of
these Cetaceans it is about the food as they transit areas. For
Resident Orca, it's fish; for Transient Bigg's Orca, it's about meat;
for baleen whales such as Humpback and Minke Whales, it's krill and
small fish; for Dolphins and Porpoise, it's fish as well as staying
clear of Transient Bigg's who hunt them as well as seals or sea
lions. As you can understand, every report is valuable!
Susan
MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales and Dolphins BC
For
our DONATE page click here.
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
UNIDENTIFIED
KILLER WHALES
(presumably
Transient Bigg's)
December
17:
8:52
am We've just seen 3 Orca heading south. Just off from Myrtle Rocks.
John
& Wendy Heathcote, Powell River
Dec
17:
9:00
am: 6-7 Orca including 2-3 big males southbound by Myrtle Rocks,
Powell River. They're just
steadily on the move. One big male was in the lead quite a bit ahead
of the others.
Jim
Southern, Powell River.
HARBOUR
PORPOISE
December
13:
12
pm As we often do see, five or six Harbour Porpoise foraging in the
rip between the Hump (south of Cape Mudge) and Willow Point.
Bill
Kennedy, Campbell River
LINKS
Information
on previously undocumented acoustic exchanges between Humpback
whales, and how they cooperate with each other when searching for
food in the dark:
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
We
are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
For
our DONATE page click here.