Have You Seen Any of These?

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Killer Whales, Humpbacks, Greys, Dolphins and Porpoise


Transient Bigg's Orca, including probably T087, have been making short appearances interspersed with some other Killer Whales' appearances. We have some more Humpback Whales popping out of the water and a few more Grey Whales creeping up the coast. Pacific White Sided Dolphins have been spotted bowriding a few boats, but are not staying in any one area, for now. A few shy Harbour Porpoise bring up the last of this report which has no submitted photos but some interesting videos. 

Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society


Killer Whales synchronize their swimming in an attempt to reach a tasty seal meal on the beach.
Video by Caro Pereira in Argentia

Society News & Events

Our April 22, 2016 Earth Day Fundraising Event including buffet dinner, live music and some fun fundraising activities is scheduled for Powell River at the Beach Gardens Resort and Marina's PowWow Banquet Room. Grief Point will be our first location for our Real Time Marine Wildlife Monitoring system which will stream on line, once all resources are available.
Tickets are $20.00 each and available at Beach Gardens and Hindle's Gifts or through our Society Members.
Tickets will also be available at our information table on Saturday March 26th at Quality Foods.

For those of you who utilize and check our Map Archives, you will notice that we have been working, as time permits, on adding our older 2015 sightings reports to these maps. It is through the great work of our dedicated volunteer analysts, who we can't say thank you enough to! We are always looking for volunteers interested in Cetacea and mapping, who would be willing to spend some time with our growing Society network.

Would you like to Volunteer and be a part of our growing Society? 
Review our current Volunteer Job Postings

Our GoFundMe Campaign to help us out with our Real Time Monitoring Stations can be accessed at: Keep Wild Ocean Whale Society Live
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Call 1-877-323-9776


Sightings Update
SIGHTINGS MAP 2016-007
SIGHTINGS LOCATIONS MAP


TRANSIENT BIGG'S KILLER WHALES

Tue Mar 22 2016

08:45 • 4 Bigg`s Orca heading South-West angling towards Comox, Georgia Strait.
08:18 • 4 Bigg`s Orca back and forth, between Powell River and Rebecca Rocks, Malaspina Strait. Looks like they're feeding on a kill. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.

08:02 • 10 Bigg`s Orca heading towards Vivian Island, Malaspina Strait. A couple or 3 calves as well. ▫ Second Hand
Jay Feaver, Powell River, CCG


Sun Mar 20 2016

16:57 • 1 Bigg`s Orca heading South out from Earl's Cove heading towards Sechelt Inlet, Jervis Inlet. There was just the one lone large male. Possibly T087?. ▫ From Ferry
Judy Brant, Powell River


Wed Mar 16 2016

19:03 • 7-10 Bigg`s Orca between Blubber Bay and Powell River in Malaspina Strait. Spread out. Looks like two males, one blow looked smaller than the rest so maybe calf.
18:58 • 7-10 Bigg`s Orca heading South
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.



UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES

Tue Mar 22 2016

12:41 • 4 Orca heading North heading towards Frederick Arm near the top of Nodales Channel. They were quite elusive. ▫ On Scene
Bill Coltart, Pacific Pro Dive


Sat Mar 19 2016

19:00 • 1 Orca passed Roberts Creek heading towards Nanaimo in Georgia Strait.
Brandi Mladenich


Fri Mar 18 2016

19:05 • Orca heading North in the area of Salmon Point on Vancouver Island in Georgia Strait. Looks like a large group from their blows. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.

09:41 • 3 Orca heading North by Union Bay on Vancouver Island in Baynes Sound. Probably more in area.
Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures


Thu Mar 17 2016

12:40 • 4 Orca heading North just off the west side of Texada Island in Georgia Strait. All small fins. ▫ From Ferry
Jim Southern, Powell River


Mon Mar 14 2016

18:20 • 10 Orca at the entrance to Discovery Harbour in Campbell River in Discovery Passage. Just before dark. ▫ Second Hand
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris

15:20 • 4-5 Orca between Goose Spit and Sandy Island in Baynes Sound. Two large bulls by the concial buoy. ▫ Second Hand
Bill Coltart, Pacific Pro Dive


Thu Mar 10 2016

14:30 • 3 Orca travelling, between the southern tip of Denman Island and Vancouver Island in Baynes Sound. Maybe feeding from splashing observed. ▫ Observed from Shore
Manfred Winter, Bowser




Humpback Whales take a slow lunge feed right beside the drifing boat they used to help corral their food. Video taken in the Mexican Baja.
Video from Facebook taken by Pamela Martínez Loustalot was shared by Jorge Urban





Humpback Whales take a slow lunge feed right beside the drifing boat they used to help corral their food. Video taken in the Mexican Baja.
Video from Facebook taken by Pamela Martínez Loustalot was shared by Jorge Urban


HUMPBACK WHALES

Tue Mar 15 2016

10:00 • 1 Humpback Whales breaching, heading South at the mouth of Kanish Bay on Quadra Island in Discovery Passage.
Alison Martin, Victoria, BC


Mon Mar 14 2016

10:07 • 1 Humpback Whales just south of Mitlenatch Island in the Georgia Strait.
Elvis Chikite, Eagle Eye Adventures


Sat Mar 12 2016

08:46 • 2-3 Humpback Whales heading North moving slowly by Rebecca Rocks.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.



GREY WHALES

Fri Mar 18 2016

10:30 • 3 Grey Whale travelling, heading West in Barkley Sound. Grays, humpbacks and orcas all seen from Ucluelet and Tofino in the last 4 days. ▫ On Scene
Don McBain, North Vancouver



PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

Tue Mar 22 2016

14:27 • PWS Dolphins bow riding, by Rock Bay, Johnstone Strait. No numbers or direction.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching


Thu Mar 17 2016

13:38 • PWS Dolphins bow riding, around Menzies Bay on Vancouver Island in Discovery Passage. ▫ Radio Report
Radio, overheard or call out



HARBOUR PORPOISE

Sun Mar 20 2016

04:54 • Harbour Porpoise between Newcastle Island and Vancouver Island passed through Nanaimo Harbour. Small group. They were small with no distinguishing markings and swam slowly. They were so small at first I thought they were otters, which are common here.
Mike Hollinshead

SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP 2016-007
SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP


The Magazine
This week, the Magazine focuses on Dolphins with a series of articles and videos covering the birth, language, feeding, intellect and death of the animals we humans have found so mysterious and appealing throughout our history.
Our look includes:
- Video of a dolphin birth witnessed by passengers on a Whale Watching Excursion
- Breaking the communication barrier between dolphins and humans
- Dramatic Video of Dolphins feeding on a Herring ball off Cornwall, UK, and a
- Dolphin stampede off Southern California
- A Risso's dolphin has washed up at Tlel Beach, on Haida Gwaii
- Efforts to reduce Dolphin mortality from the Sword Fishery off California and in small scale artisanal fishery in Africa
and finally we learn about
- The history of Cold War Dolphin Soldiers, in light of the publication of a recent Russian tender to purchase Bottle Nose dolphins for new military duties.


REGIONAL & WEST COAST

ABC News, CA




A tour boat of whale watchers were treated to a rare sight off the Dana Point coast on Thursday, as hundreds of dolphins were spotted porpoising at high speed in the ocean.
Porpoising - in which marine mammals jump repeatedly above the surface as they swim rapidly - helps dolphins swim faster because of the lower resistance in air than water.


LA Times, CA




The crew and passengers didn’t know what to make of it – a group of false killer whales, a type of large dolphin, swam up and began bumping their whale watching boat Saturday off the Dana Point coast.

As people tried to hold their cameras steady, a female false killer whale bobbed in the water nearby. Blood rose to the surface, followed by the weak, curved dorsal fin of the mother’s new calf.

In a moment not often captured on video, let alone seen on a whale watching trip, the passengers and crew of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari witnessed a marine mammal giving birth in the open ocean.


BC Local News


Years of unusually warm water in the northeast Pacific have led to large algae blooms, and biologists are concerned they could be sending algae-produced toxins, such as demoic acid, up the food chain.
This past year, an unusually high number of dead cetaceans have washed up on the B.C. and Alaska coasts, and algal toxins are a possible cause.
They are usually swimming a kilometre or more offshore from Haida Gwaii or Vancouver Island.
Risso’s are among the larger dolphins, with adult males reaching lengths up to four metres.....



Underwater soldiers: The history of military dolphins, from the Cold War to present
CBC Radio show Day 6

Last week, the Russian state department issued an unusual request: A call to recruit five dolphins. And this isn't the first time Russia has trained a military dolphin unit. Science historian Graham Burnett dives into the history of military dolphins.


Sacramento Bee, CA
Image: Pew Charitable Trust


Off California’s southern coast, a small fleet of commercial fishing boats hunts for the majestic swordfish by using milelong drift gillnets that form floating walls through the sea. Though the boats number 20 active vessels at most, the fishing technique is known to trap tons of fish and sea mammals such as dolphins.


INTERNATIONAL

National Geographic


A comprehensive article looks at dolphin intelligence from the physiological to their social adaptations that have allowed dolphins to master their environment.


Daily Mail, UK


After studying long-finned pilot whales, researchers have detected dialect differences similar to the way humans from a specific location have their own vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
And they are honing on identifying which dialect comes from which region.


Duke University, NC


Scientists have created highly detailed maps charting the seasonal movements and population densities of 35 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises -- many of them threatened or endangered -- in the crowded waters of the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. - See more at: https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/news/new-maps-may-help-reduce-threats-whales-dolphins-us-waters#sthash.r8kSDtTa.dpuf


Yorkshire Evening Post, UK


VIDEO - They were spotted by wildlife expert Ross Wheeler in Falmouth Bay, Cornwall.
He was leading a tour for Exeter University students who were monitoring the so-called harbour porpoise. But instead they found a much greater scene - 190 common dolphins rounding up a massive school of herring.


ABC, Australia


Scientists have gathered DNA samples from a unique hybrid dolphin that washed ashore in Western Australia's north.

While hybrid dolphins have been seen occasionally, it is believed to be the first time in the world one has been studied.


Submissions
The WOWs Magazine welcomes reader submissions of links to Published Articles and Media. We also welcome submissions of original: Articles, Letters, Notices, Photography, Video and Audio.

In the Desktop viewer, please look for the Magazine Submissions Button at the bottom of the page and in the top sidebar

Original Material Guidelines:
Notices: max. 100 words; Letters & Articles: max. 500 words. You or your organization must be the Authors of the work and are solely responsible for its content.
The WOWs Magazine gives no assurance material submitted will be published.

Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Call 1-877-323-9776

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Orca, Dolphins and Albino Whales


Albino Grey and Humpback Whales. and even an Orca have once again been in the news. The best known is called Migaloo, the Humpback whale and the most recently confirmed is a Grey whale seen along the Baja peninsula. We too had one report a few issues back of a possible white whale in the Georgia Strait, but without photos, we could only list it as possible. The herring spawn seems to have brought relatively few whales and dolphins into the area, or perhaps these intelligent animals are purposely avoiding the fishing fleet. Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society




Albino Grey Whale
More info in our Magazine section below

Society News

Our April 22, 2016 Earth Day Fundraising Event including buffet dinner, live music and some fun fundraising activities is scheduled for Powell River at the Beach Gardens Resort and Marina's PowWow Banquet Room. Tickets are $20.00 each and available at Beach Gardens and Hindle's Gifts or through our Society Members. This will be our first location for our Real Time Marine Wildlife Monitoring system which will stream on line, once all resources are available.

Our GoFundMe Campaign to help us out with our Real Time Monitoring Stations can be accessed at: https://www.gofundme.com/WOWsociety

For those of you who utilize and check our Map Archives, you will notice that we have been working, as time permits, on adding our older 2015 sightings reports to these maps. It is through the great work of our dedicated volunteer analysts, who we can't say thank you enough to! We are always looking for volunteers interested in Cetacea and mapping, who would be willing to spend some time with our growing Society network.

Would you like to Volunteer and be a part of our growing Society? 
Review our current Volunteer Job Postings
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Call 1-877-323-9776


Sightings Update
SIGHTINGS MAP 2016-006
SIGHTINGS LOCATIONS MAP


UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES

Tue Mar 08 2016

15:39 • Orca in front of Campbell River closer to Quadra Island in Discovery Passage. The Ferry has slowed to watch them.
15:36 • 10 Orca heading North in Discovery Passage.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching


Mon Feb 29 2016

18:02 • 4-5 Orca heading North-West in Jervis Inlet off of Agnew Passage. ▫ From Ferry
Kent Jenkins

08:35 • Orca moving fast on the east side of Texada Island down beyond Raven Bay in Malaspina Strait.
Candi Little

08:25 • 4-5 Orca heading South off the shores of Texada Island in Malaspina Strait. Off of the old quarry.
Candi Little Texada


Sat Feb 27 2016

13:30 • 10 Orca at Grant's reef off of Savary Island in the Strait of Georgia. At least 2 males and several calves.
Fabien Minfray, Campbell River

10:43 • 10 Orca heading North at Grant Reefs off of Savary Island in the middle of Shearwater Passage.
Fabien Minfray, Campbell River Whale Watching

09:05 • Orca west of Texada Island in Strait of Georgia. Spotted from aircraft. No other details. ▫ Second Hand
Derek Poole


Fri Feb 26 2016

13:30 • 1 Orca hunting, heading North close to the shoreline of Halfmoon Bay across from Merry Island in Welcome Passage. Looked like a larger Transient as there were no other visible whales. ▫ Observed from Shore
Carol Donohoe, Halfmoon Bay BC


Tue Feb 16 2016

09:00 • 8 Orca beyond Entrance Island in the Srait of Georgia. Observed from Orlebar Point. Feeding about 2 kilometres out. Saw three large dorsal fins. They were in this vicinity for at least two hours between 8 - 10 a.m. ▫ Observed from Shore
Elsa Bluethner



PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

Thu Feb 25 2016

16:06 • PWS Dolphins off Powell River in Malaspina Strait. Off of Westview Wharf.
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC



Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Thu Feb 25 2016 - 3 Images / Media Files
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC




Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Thu Feb 25 2016 - 3 Images / Media Files
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC



SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP 2016-006
SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP


The Magazine
Gray whales are making their way south from the cold rich waters of the Bearing Sea off Alaska to the warm waters of Mexico. This issue features articles and videos along the Gray Whale migration route where the whales are stopping off at Whidbey Island in Puget Sound to feast on Ghost Shrimp, volunteer whale spotters on the bluffs of Ventura County in Southern California are carrying out the annual whale count, and an albino Gray whale and her calf are back in Baja California, Mexico.
Also in this issue:
... local enthusiasts are busy capturing videos of Humpback whales
... what are whales doing at night?
... Quirks and Quarks looks at Whale Slurpees
... and Australian dolphins are having fun with octopus.
Enjoy


Map Credits: Journey North Citizen Science

REGIONAL & WEST COAST

CHEK News, BC


A small pod of whales shows every year like clock work, looking to gorge on an all you can eat shrimp buffet.
About 25 years ago, a very small group of Gray whales began to make a 200 kilometre detour on their way to Mexico and travel to Saratoga Passage, off the waters of Whidbey Island in Puget Sound....


Ventura County Star, CA


For the past 12 years, a teams of volunteers have spent day after day from February to May on an overlook at Coal Oil Point Reserve.
They watch as gray whales make their way back north after spending the winter in lagoons off the coast of Mexico.
Close to 20,000 gray whales make the annual migration past Ventura County — one of the longest of any mammal.


Pete Thomas Outdoors Blog




A gray whale believed to be albino has been documented in Scammon’s Lagoon in Baja California, Mexico, for the first time in at least three years.

The same whale was spotted in 2008 and 2009, as a juvenile. It might also have been spotted in 2013, according to at least one report.

This time, though, the white whale is traveling with her calf...


Powel River Peak, BC


Over the past three years, humpback whales have been spending more time in the area, and Jude Abrams and Terry Brown have found themselves watching and learning as much from these animals as possible.


On The Island, CBC News, BC


The raccoons spend day and night on the shoreline, gorging on seafood, which has had a detrimental effect on the intertidal ecosystem.
By scaring the raccoons' away with the sound of barking dogs, researchers found that raccoons substantially reduce their foraging and the beach came back to life with a huge benefit for the crabs and fish that they eat.


CANADA

EARTH TOUCH


A rare Cuvier's beaked whale died shortly after stranding on a New Brunswick beach in early February, and local experts recently performed a necropsy to figure out what went wrong.


Quirks and Quarks,
CBC Radio

Baleen whales may have evolved from suction feeders.


INTERNATIONAL

MANDURAH COASTAL TIMES, Australia


A DOLPHIN researcher took these amazing pictures of a Mandurah dolphin playing with an octopus last week.
PHD candidate Krista Nicholson, who took the photos, said she had seen dolphins take part in an “octopus toss” before, but it was unusual to get pictures.
“It’s not unheard of for dolphins to do this, but it’s not a regular occurrence” she said.
“We haven’t seen them (Mandurah dolphins) actually consume an octopus. .....


Autodesk Blog


A group of artists and technicians visited a remote site on the south of Spitsbergen to 3D-scan the remains of beluga whales that were caught there in large numbers about a century ago. Their work resulted in a unique art installation in tribute ...


Scientific American


New technology helps researchers make better nighttime observations and devise conservation plans for the aquatic mammals


Submissions
The WOWs Magazine welcomes reader submissions of links to Published Articles and Media. We also welcome submissions of original: Articles, Letters, Notices, Photography, Video and Audio.

In the Desktop viewer, please look for the Magazine Submissions Button at the bottom of the page and in the top sidebar

Original Material Guidelines:
Notices: max. 100 words; Letters & Articles: max. 500 words. You or your organization must be the Authors of the work and are solely responsible for its content.
The WOWs Magazine gives no assurance material submitted will be published.

Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Call 1-877-323-9776