Have You Seen Any of These?

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Orca, Humpback Whales, Dolphins and Porpoise

Orca and Humpback Whales are still prevalent in our reports. Orca seem to be transitting areas while many Humpbacks are still staying throughout the Georgia Strait. We had one day which appeared to have a mass southerly movement of Humpbacks, but their movements slowed with some returning northward or staying around the western end of Vancouver Island. Weather has been hindering observations making it difficult to see whales in the lumpy seas, but a few decent days brought in some Pacific White Sided Dolphin reports as well as a few of the smallest Cetaceans in our waters, Dall's and Harbour Porpoise.

Our Magazine always has such great and informative articles compiled from web sources. A great job done by our Magazine Editor. We hope you enjoy them and learn a bit more about our global oceans and issues in the news. For example, did you know that there are ten distinct types of Orca in the world? The magazine has a piece about some of the Antarctic Orca with some underwater footage.

Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society


Pacific White Sided Dolphin being its playful self
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale Watching and Grizzly Bear Tours



Society News & Events

Real Time Monitoring Station Live Update:
Our live camera feed is at YouTube Channel Live Link. We still have transmission problems causing the intermittent bouncy images from the Beach Gardens Marina camera which would translate to static for our hydrophone (underwater listening) stream. We continue to work on a resolution. You may also have noticed that we have a second live stream that appears when the Beach Gardens camera is down. This is a lesser quality camera we have as a backup mounted in Powell River. We still managed to have a couple of whale sightings from both cameras.

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Sightings Update


ISSUE SIGHTINGS MAP 2017-042

ISSUE SIGHTINGS MAP


TRANSIENT BIGGS KILLER WHALES

Wed Nov 08 2017

15:15 • est. 7 Biggs Orca spread out, heading north in front of Powell River Ferry terminal, Malaspina Strait. Going towards mill. ▫ Observed from Shore

Wed Nov 01 2017

12:34 • Biggs Orca ◦T101s◦ heading south off Cape Mudge, Georgia Strait. T046C2 also known as Sam is travelling with T101s and T102. ▫ Radio Report
Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions

12:14 • Biggs Orca off Cape Mudge.
Radio, overheard or call out

08:40 • 2-3 Biggs Orca heading north at Cape Mudge Lighthouse, Georgia Strait.


UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES

Sat Nov 04 2017

12:27 • Orca off French Creek, Georgia Strait.
Radio, overheard or call out


Sat Oct 28 2017

03:15 • 5-10 Orca moving quickly, heading north-east, Nanaimo Harbour, Nanaimo Harbour. On Jack Point observing Sea Lions eating fish and then noticed 5 Orca together and another bunch heading south towards the estuary. The ones heading south must have come back, even though it was high tide; we doubted that they could go up the Nanaimo river, but never was able to verify if they came back. We were able to see the whales go back and forth in among Nanamio Harbour, as they seemed to be zig zagging and diving and then popping back up in different areas, but staying around for about 30 - 45 minutes. This pattern continued until eventually they went past Protection Island and crossing the channel and heading between Jack Point and Gabriola Island. We left only because we were getting cold, after having been there for over 3 hours. At one point, could see through binoculars one whale slap it's tail fluke. The group of whales seemed to include at least one young Orca, while the others were bigger, but still seemed smallish, however, able to see with the naked eye, binoculars were very helpful for more detail. We unfortunately did not have a proper camera, and what is captured on my cell phone, is only spouts of spray and some body movement. We were surprised to see a Prince of Whales, and two Whale Watching Vancouver boats that were watching them until they went off before the whales did. We were wondering if the whales and boats had come from around the other side of Protection Island or Newcastle Island, as all of a sudden the whales and the boats were in the harbour. There were some commercial fishing boats along with other smaller motor boats and sail boats further out. The whales were in the harbour, right in the path of the Gabriola Island ferry and later close to the Duke Point ferry pathway. My partner, living in Nanaimo for the last five years had never seen them there before, but had noticed larger amounts of fishing boats in the harbour earlier in the week, and had heard that there was a salmon run at this time of year. ▫ Observed from Shore
Keith, Nanaimo, BC



SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Unidentified Killer Whales
Northern Resident Killer Whales, A37 Plumper and younger brother A46 in Nodales Channel in July 2014
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 - 1 items


SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Unidentified Killer Whales
Northern Resident Killer Whales, A37 Plumper and younger brother A46 in Nodales Channel in July 2014
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 - 1 items




HUMPBACK WHALES

Sat Nov 11 2017

16:00 • Humpback Whales off Sunset Marina toward Bowyer Island, Queen Charlotte Channel.
Davida LeCompte, Lions Bay, BC

09:35 • 5 Humpback Whales close to Rebecca Rocks, Malaspina Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
09:35 • 2 Humpback Whales west of Coho / Kiddie Point, Georgia Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
09:35 • 2 Humpback Whales breaching, west of Rebecca Rocks, Georgia Strait.
09:05 • Humpback Whales south of Rebecca Rocks, Powell River, Malaspina Strait.
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC


Fri Nov 10 2017

11:39 • 2 Humpback Whales between Rebecca Rocks and Harwood Island, Malaspina Strait. Just saw two tails.
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC


Thu Nov 09 2017

12:32 • Humpback Whales heading north between Mitlenatch Island and the shore of Vancouver Island, Georgia Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Micheline Macauley, Texada Island, BC


Wed Nov 08 2017

11:00 • est. 2 Humpback Whales breaching, heading south-east off Ballenas Islands, Georgia Strait. In area for several hours, mostly surface swimming then later breaching. ▫ Observed from Shore
Karin Davis, Nanoose Bay, BC

09:18 • 2 Humpback Whales heading north close by Rebecca Rocks, Malaspina Strait. Seeing the Humpbacks through the scope. ▫ Observed from Shore
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC


Tue Nov 07 2017

16:00 • 5-7 Humpback Whales moving slowly, heading south-east off Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait. Several Humpbacks, at least one young one. Adult tail white on both corners...another adult black tail. ▫ Observed from Shore
Deb Grey, Qualicum Beach, BC

10:18 • 1 Humpback Whales heading south Duncan Bay, Discovery Passage.
Bill Coltart, Pacific Pro Dive


Sun Nov 05 2017

16:10 • 1 Humpback Whales off Hornby Island at the south end of Lambert Channel.
Bill Coltart, Pacific Pro Dive

15:00 • 2 Humpback Whales moving slowly, heading west off Parksville Bay, Georgia Strait. Two Humpbacks travelling up the coast, first seen rounding the point close to the Parksville Beach area and then moving into the bay. Then up past French Creek within a hundred yards of the harbour entrance and then moving close inshore again before disappearing from my view. Slowly travelling and surfacing regularly. ▫ Observed from Shore
Roy Smith, Nanaimo, BC


Sat Nov 04 2017

12:12 • 8-9 Humpback Whales foraging, off Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait.
Radio, overheard or call out

12:00 • est. 2 Humpback Whales heading south past Mouat Rocks, Mouat Bay west side of Texada Island, Georgia Strait.
Candi Little, Texada Island, BC

--:-- • 2 Humpback Whales foraging, in Quatsino Sound. Observed in the area for two days, on November 4th and 5th.
Angie and Paul Hibbert, Sayward, BC


Wed Nov 01 2017

12:56 • 1-2 Humpback Whales heading south below Powell River Viewpoint, Malaspina Strait.
12:54 • est. 7 Humpback Whales heading south across from Myrtle Point close to Texada Island, Malaspina Strait.
Jim Southern, Powell River, BC

10:14 • 1 Humpback Whales breaching, heading west mid-channel off Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait. A good sized Humpback breached 5 times, moving slowly. Still messing around ten minutes later, circling and splashing.
Lynne Cracknell, Cedar, BC

10:10 • 12-13 Humpback Whales breaching, couple miles off French Creek near Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait.
Elvis Chikite, Pacific Pro Dive


Tue Oct 31 2017

17:29 • est. 2 Humpback Whales south of Rebecca Rocks, Georgia Strait.
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC


Mon Oct 30 2017

12:30 • 2 Humpback Whales foraging, SW of Vivian Island, Georgia Strait. 2 Humpbacks shallow feeding. Couldn’t get an ID shot but likely 2 of the 3 whales that were in the same area the evening before. From SV Blue Parrot. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC

12:08 • est. 2 Humpback Whales trumpeting and pectoral slapping, off Crescent Bay at the northwest tip of Texada Island, Georgia Strait. A couple of boats were nearby.
Micheline Macauley, Texada Island, BC

10:41 • Humpback Whales south of Rebecca Rocks heading towards Blubber Bay, Malaspina Strait.
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC

10:30 • 1 Humpback Whales frolicking, between Coho / Kiddie Point and Rebecca Rocks, Malaspina Strait. One Humpback feeding and playing with California Sea Lions between Coho Pt and Rebecca Rocks. Then. headed towards Harwood Island, staying in that area and shallow feeding. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC


Sun Oct 29 2017

16:20 • 3 Humpback Whales foraging, in Limekiln Bay, Texada Island, Georgia Strait. Two whales were close together, synchronizing their dives. The 3rd whale was feeding nearby but not with them. One of the whales didn’t lift flukes clear of the water at any time, maybe Crescent? From SV Blue Parrot. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC

14:20 • 1 Humpback Whales foraging, heading south-west near Scotch Fir Point between Thunder Point and Hardy Island, Jervis Inlet. ▫ Observed from Shore
Derek Parkin, Powell River, BC



SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales travelling past the Salish Orca ferry in front of Powell River
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 - 1 items


SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales travelling past the Salish Orca ferry in front of Powell River
Tue, 24 Oct 2017 - 1 items




MINKE WHALES

Tue Oct 31 2017

16:45 • 1 Minke Whales moving quickly, heading west at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet. From SV Blue Parrot. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC



PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

Fri Nov 10 2017

16:30 • PWS Dolphins off Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait. For twenty minutes I watched what I thought were whales and dolphins. Being new to the island I was very surprised and uncertain as to what I was seeing. At first I watched a pod of what I thought were whales - classic tail. Then a smallish one went airborne like a dolphin. It was spectacular sightseeing!. ▫ Observed from Shore
Karen Corkery, Qualicum Beach, BC


Tue Oct 31 2017

17:00 • est. 8 - 12 PWS Dolphins foraging, at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet. The dolphins were shallow feeding at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet, Desolation Sound, along with 6 – 8 sea lions. From SV Blue Parrot. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC



SIGHTING MEDIA
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Pacific White Sided Dolphins at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 - 1 items
Terry Brown and Jude Abrams, Lund, BC



SIGHTING MEDIA
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Pacific White Sided Dolphins at the mouth of Malaspina Inlet
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 - 1 items
Terry Brown and Jude Abrams, Lund, BC




SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Pacific White Sided Dolphins being playful this past summer
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 - 1 items


SPECIES SUPPLEMENT
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Pacific White Sided Dolphins being playful this past summer
Sun, 12 Nov 2017 - 1 items




DALLS PORPOISE

Tue Oct 31 2017

17:50 • est. 50 Dalls Porpoise moving quickly, heading north-west just south-east of Kitty Coleman Beach Park, Georgia Strait. I was kayaking about 300m offshore, about 700m southeast of Kitty Coleman park when I saw a line of what I believe were Dall's Porpoise heading very quickly in the direction of Campbell River. The line stretched at least 300 m long, thus there could have been more then 50 porpoises. I paddled towards the line, but they were probably 1-km offshore, I closed to within about 300 m of the line. It was like a freight train, such that the very calm water (I was on a very tippy surf ski) became agitated by their wake, even at that distance. I have never seen such a huge group - is this a migration?. ▫ On Scene
Fred Bigelow, Courtenay



HARBOUR PORPOISE

Tue Oct 31 2017

16:00 • 2 Harbour Porpoise foraging, heading north-east off Powell Islets and Townley Islands, Malaspina Strait. From SV Blue Parrot. ▫ On Scene
Terry Brown And Jude Abrams, Lund, BC

15:00 • 3 Harbour Porpoise at entrance to Comox Harbour.
12:30 • 5 Harbour Porpoise at Grant Reefs, Georgia Strait.
Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce



SPECIES UNSURE

Fri Nov 10 2017

16:30 • Species Unsure off Qualicum Beach, Georgia Strait. For twenty minutes I watched what I thought were whales and dolphins. Being new to the island I was very surprised and uncertain as to what I was seeing. At first I watched a pod of what I thought were whales - classic tail. Then a smallish one went airborne like a dolphin. It was spectacular sightseeing!. ▫ Observed from Shore
Karen Corkery, Qualicum Beach, BC


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The Magazine



WEST COAST


The Mercury News, CA


Commercial Dungeness crab season is almost here again. And once again, California officials have done little to prevent whales from getting tangled up, injured or killed in crab gear, despite steep increases in illegal entanglements off our coast.
That’s why we at the Center for Biological Diversity were forced to sue the California Department of Fish and Wildlife last month, urging it to better regulate this fishery. We’ve spent the last three years publicizing the... read on


Timeline



Natural abundance has its limits, especially when you dam the path to the breeding grounds-- as was the case with the giant Chinook salmon of the Pacific northwest. Seeing their enormous silvery forms leaping upriver is a miraculous sight in some of this archival footage, but a fish can’t leap over a 100-foot dam. The fish known as “june hogs” are no more.... read on


NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL


The Press, NZ



Orca have appeared earlier than usual this year in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, due to sea ice breaking up with warmer weather.

New Zealand scientists will return to the seas near Scott Base early next year to continue research into the mysterious Antarctic killer whales.

They have no idea where orca give birth and learned only in 2014-15 that Antarctic orca swim as far north as Northland and the Kermadec Islands, about 1000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, University of Canterbury Antarctic marine scientist Dr Regina Eisert said.​

They could swim 5000km in three weeks, but it was not known why, she said.... read on


BBC News, UK


Europe's killer whales wowed in the BBC's Blue Planet II series but these animals face extinction. Chris Gibson travelled to the small Norwegian island of Kvaløya where the orcas retain a strong foothold. But for how much longer?
It was one of those television moments. The sight of killer whales herding shoals of herring into tighter and tighter balls to trap the prey near the surface of the water.
The killer whales work as a pack of skilful hunters before deploying their secret weapon - tail-slapping the fish so hard they are either dazed or die.
The story behind those shots is even more remarkable.
They were filmed in the majestic Norwegian fjords. These long, narrow inlets are now among the few places in Europe you can see a pod of killer whales.
Across Europe, these cetaceans are declining rapidly.
In the Mediterranean and the North Sea, they have vanished.
Elsewhere, there are now only eight killer whales in the NW Scotland-Ireland population, and only 36 left in the Strait of Gibraltar population.... read on


Hakai Magazine, BC


In Laguna, Brazil, fishermen get help from a wild partner. Local bottlenose dolphins have learned to herd mullet into shallow water and to signal fishermen so they know when to cast their nets. After signaling, the dolphins wait with their mouths agape, ready to catch mullet not snagged in the nets. Only some dolphins participate in this cooperative hunting, and as new research shows, these helpful animals have other behaviors that are distinct from their less-friendly fellows.... read on


The Long Now Foundation




Phys.org


Conservation groups say a record number of Southern right whales were counted this year in Argentina's Patagonia region.
Thousands of tourists have enjoyed watching the whales and their calves this season swimming near the shoreline of El Doradillo area.
The Whale Conservation Institute says 788 Southern right whales were counted in the region this year. It says that is the highest since records began to be registered in 1971.
Southern right whales migrate from their icy feeding grounds off Antarctica to warmer climates.
Many come to El Doradillo, on the coast of Golfo Nuevo in the Argentine Patagonia, to breed and nurse their young.
The tiny inlet on the Atlantic coast is one of the few places on Earth where the whales can be seen from shore.... read on


National Geographic, USA


Australia's bottlenose dolphins have long been known to use sea sponges as a tool for finding a meal—but now researchers may have observed males of another species attempting to woo females with them.

Over a period of 10 years, a team of marine biologists watched male Australian humpback dolphins present large, ornate sponges to females—and on occasion even toss these putative love tokens their way.

“A display to impress a female is not unusual, but using an object in that display is very unusual,” says study leader Simon Allen, a biologist at the University of Western Australia in Perth.... read on


Sustainable Human


The kind of neurodegeneration that leads to Alzheimer’s in humans may be more prevalent across the animal kingdom than researchers once thought.
Earlier this year, researchers discovered that chimpanzees living in captivity developed the same neurological markers for the devastating form of dementia. It turns out wild dolphins may as well. New research, published (paywall) in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia late in Sept. 2017, found that three different species of dolphins (bottlenose, striped, and Risso’s) had developed amyloid plaques and tangled clumps of fibers in their brains—both telltale signs of the disease in humans.
The study looked at eight dolphins in total.... read on


Sustainable Planet



A Video documentary by Sustainable Planet... read on


Science



HALIFAX, CANADA—In the fall of 1990, a few humpback whales showed up off the coast of western South Africa where they had rarely been seen before. Over the next couple years, a few more showed up, then a few more. Today, nearly 200 of the giant ocean mammals mill around a piece of ocean smaller than a U.S. football field for several months out of the year. Now, scientists think they know what’s luring what may be the largest global gathering of these cetaceans: masses of free food. Hungry humpbacks travel thousands of kilometers to feast on a rich buffet of tiny crustaceans called krill, researchers reported here this week at the biennial meeting of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.... read on


ABC, AU


Murdoch University's Fredrik Christiansen and Kate Sprogis deployed drones to photograph and measure the body condition of female humpbacks on two legs of the year-long migration, which begins in Antarctica over summer.

In June, the pair spent three weeks assessing well-fed humpbacks as they moved north from the feeding grounds of Antarctica past Augusta, in WA's south west only to reunite with the emaciated females this month off Dunsborough on their return voyage.

Female humpbacks will typically leave southern waters weighing their heaviest, on average between 30-40 tonnes, but will return substantially lighter having shed a lot of their weight feeding calves birthed in the warm northern waters off Australia's coast.

Exactly how much the females lose and the amount of energy they expend in the process remains a slight mystery and it's that key detail Dr Christiansen is hoping to deduce.... read on


Green News, IE


Almost ten per cent of whales, dolphins, and porpoises examined as part of a new Irish study were found to have plastics in their digestive tracts.

The study published in Environmental Pollution found that 8.5 per cent (45 individuals) of Irish cetaceans tested had marine debris in their stomachs and intestines.

Deep-diving offshore species such as True’s and Cuvier’s beaked whales ingested more plastics than individuals from coastal or pelagic species.... read on

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