Very busy Orca day! But the biggest
news is that of a new Orca birth. A brand new Transient Orca calf
which was possibly mere hours old. The Transient Orca population is
certainly doing well. Nature is taking her course in keeping the
number of seals and sealions down by increasing these meat eating
Killer Whale numbers. It's sad that they do also take Pacific White
Sided Dolphins, Dall's and Harbour Porpoise as well as other whales,
but it is Nature in the raw.
Susan MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Transient
Orca – Bigg's Killer Whales
Baby Transient Orca!
July 21, 2012
Nick Templeman, Eagle
Eye Adventures
(NT Photography)
July 21:
7:30 am Call came in over the radio
that there were some Transient Orca by Hall Point at the top
of Nodales Channel. No number or direction.
Fishing boat
July 21:
7:40 am Relayed message: 6 Orca
headed down Nodales Channel.
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures
July 21:
8:50 am Found them! They were
headed into Hemming Bay, across from Thurston Bay Marine Park,
in Nodales Channel but didn't stay long. They tracked behind Lee
Islands and continued relatively quickly down and into Johnstone
Strait. The various Whale Watching boats out of Campbell River joined
up to observe these Orca for a time. At times they were
moving up to 10 knots with the tide! I stayed with them right as
they caught the slack tide at Race and Current Passage and left them
a bit after 1 pm just below Yorke Island still heading West up
Johnstone Strait. It was difficult to say how many were in the group
since some appeared to split off, but there were 4 Orca
staying close together and definitely another two that
meandered off somewhere, then rejoined, then separated. At the speed
they were going and the long dives they took at times, I was
surprised that the four Orca even stayed true on course....my
direction. After I left them behind a ways.....see Northern Resident
Orca report.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC
July 21:
12:25 pm (via notes from various
radio transmissions) As Garry, with his tour was making his way
up towards Earl's Ledge, by Kelsey Bay to join up with Nick, the last
of the tour boats, and myself, he happened across 3 or 4 Orca by
Tyee Point, bottom of Current
Passage, with “the smallest calf I've ever seen”. There
were two females (T046 and T122 ID's from Nick) helping the calf
along in front of them, which leads us to believe that it truly was a
newborn. It has a wrinkled appearance and is quite orange.....Photos!
And Tiny! These whales headed slowly East down Johnstone Strait.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys &
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures
Baby Transient Orca - so tiny!
July 21, 2012
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys
July 21:
3:57 pm Orca by Mace Point, East
end of Savary Island facing Lund. No numbers or direction
given.
Gordie Coles, Savary Island / Lund
July 21:
6:55 pm 4 Orca and tiny calf
Southbound into Denham Bay by Dent Rapids following 30
+ Pacific White Sided Dolphins.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge
July 21:
7 pm 6 or so Transient Orca that
I left by Yorke Island, Sunderland Channel had made their way up by
Boat Bay quickly and were continuing West. Thanks to Jared
Towers, of DFO who managed to get out to see and identify four of the
whales as the T065A's.
SM
Northern
Resident Orca
July 21:
Around 12 pm The 2 Northern Resident
Orca, A36's were Eastbound down Johnstone Strait by Adam
River.
Bill Mackay, Naiad Explorer
July 21:
Around 1:21 pm After I left the
Transient Orca behind a bit, I came across the two A36 brothers
working their way East down Johnstone Strait just across from Millie
Island, Port Neville. These two seemed a bit undecided for a
while as to where they wanted to go. Perhaps they heard the
Transients, who outnumbered them, coming up the Strait. At 1:32 pm
they turned to head back West up Johnstone Strait. I left them
behind as they were moving slowly and I was cutting across the
Strait.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC
Pacific
White Sided Dolphins
9:46 am 75 + PWS Dolphins by
Thurston Bay Marine Park heading up Nodales towards Hall Point.
There are a lot of really small baby Dolphins in the mix.
Under 1 foot long!
Scotty, Painter's Lodge
July 21:
4:30 pm 50 PWS Dolphins in Denham
Bay, by Dent Rapids.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys
July 21:
6:55 pm 4 Orca and tiny calf
Southbound into Denham Bay by Dent Rapids following 30 + Pacific
White Sided Dolphins.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge
Baby Transient Orca - First ID shot!
July 21, 2012
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys
Dall's
Porpoise
July 21:
8:30 am Couple of Dall's Porpoise
foraging off Sonora Point in Nodales Channel.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC