Orca,
both Resident and Transient Bigg's have been spotted in a few
different places. Transient Bigg's Killer Whales were seen following
a group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins today up by Squamish. We've
posted a news link under Links in the News. There are rumours of
Northern Resident Killer Whales at the top of Johnstone Strait, but
we don't have any specific reports to provide in our update. The huge
group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins from a while ago have split into smaller groups,
80 to 200 in numbers, and seen in places from Squamish to Lund. We
believe that some of the Unidentified Orca are Transient Bigg's
either following or attempting to herd some of the Dolphins. It's
great to get reports of those shy little Harbour Porpoise as well and look forward to hearing
more from everyone. It's just about time for the Grey Whales to start
up the coast as well as Humpback Whales to start showing up. Keep
your eyes open and please remember to call or email your report in to
us.
Susan
MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Every
sighting report is valuable
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
March
15: 11:30 am
Transient
Bigg's Killer Whales following Hundreds of Pacific White Sided
Dolphins
near
Squamish. Photo by Mandy Jensen
Global
TV report link in Links in the News below.
UNIDENTIFIED
KILLER WHALES
March
14:
I was
in Nanaimo and I spotted 3 groups spread out over about 2 km for a
total of 12 – 15 Orca. They were heading south east and were about
1 km. off Neck Point. Kind of funny as I am on my way to Sointula to
hopefully get some photos of whales!
Geordie
Harrower, Roberts Creek.
March
14:
2:30
pm: Orcas spotted, two groups, off Winchelsea, in front of schooner
Cove Marina, near Nanoose Bay. One group had 6 and the other had 3,
heading southbound towards Nanaimo.
Mike,
Nanoose Bay
March
13:
9:30
am: There are Orca heading northbound, mid channel, off Cape Mudge
Lighthouse, on Quadra Island. There are 3 or 4 of them. Reported
by a fishing guide.
Jack
Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
March
10:
Four
Orca spotted heading east one km. out front of Davis Bay, off the
White Islets on the Sunshine Coast.
Geordie
Harrower, Roberts Creek.
March
9:
11:50
am: There are half a dozen or so Orca at the Subtle Islands, which
are between Cortes and Quadra Islands. (watching
from shore on Quadra)
Jared
Towers,
Dept. Fisheries
PACIFIC
WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
March
15: 11:30 am
Hundreds
of Pacific White Sided Dolphins followed by Transient Bigg's Killer
Whales in Squamish. Photo by Mandy Jensen
Global
TV report link in Links in the News below.
March
11:
7:45
am: Large pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins are heading up through
the Ragged Islands (Copeland Islands) off Lund. I missed them, but
Murray and the crew saw them, no photos.
Gordie
Coles, Lund / Savary Island
March
10:
4:30
pm: 200 or so Pacific White Sided Dolphins passed quickly by Beach
Gardens. They should be in front of the viewpoint soon.
Andrew
Bryant, Powell River
March
10:
4:45
pm With Andrew still on the phone, I looked out to see the 200 or so
PWS Dolphins in front of Powell River motoring fast northward.
5:30
pm: After speeding past Westview, the PWS Dolphins stopped briefly to
forage at the Powell River Mill, and then continued more slowly
towards Mystery Reef off Savary Island.
6:20pm:
I can still see the dolphins, and they are spread out between Dinner
Rock and Savary Island's Mace Point. There's a couple of hundred for
sure.
Susan
MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC.
March
10:
6:15
pm: There are 70 to 80 Pacific White Sided Dolphins off Atrevida Reef
northbound. They are travelling in a vee line, like geese, heading
towards Lund.
Kim
Lisberg (sp?), Powell River
March
10:
7:00
pm: The dolphins are headed towards Major Rock. They are too far away
from Savary to get a photo.
Rick
Thaddeus,
Savary Island
HARBOUR
PORPOISE
Porpoise
Geordie
Harrower, Roberts Creek
March
14:
5 pm:
I went out on my boat yesterday at 5 pm with the sole intention of
watching these porpoise. I stopped the boat and drifted and waited.
Sure enough they were there. I saw 2 groups of about 5 or 6 again
right offshore of Whitecliff park in W Van. After watching them
carefully for an hour I now almost certainly believe them to be
harbour porpoise, not Dall. They came within about 30' of the boat.
I'll keep u posted!
Earl
Paxton, West Vancouver
March
12:
6:30
pm: I saw two groups of Dall's (?) porpoise yesterday off Whitecliff
Park, West Vancouver, around 18:30 hours. I travel between
Fisherman's Cove in West Van to Gambier Island 2-3 times a week in my
19' boat and see these guys every other trip. Yesterday there were 2
in one group (100' offshore from the park lookout), or at least
that's all we saw. The other group, about 5 or 6, was about 1/2 km.
further south east. Although I've only ever seen 3 before on any
given day, I was excited to see so many at once. Unfortunately I was
in a hurry so couldn't stop and watch. They are in the same area
every time. They seem quite elusive and unfortunately tend to move
away from the boat as I pass through. (This is very consistent
with Harbour Porpoise activity rather than Dall's Porpoise - SM)
Earl
Paxton, West Vancouver.
UNIDENTIFIED
BLOW
March
9:
1 pm
Single large blow seen three times North-West between Rebecca Rocks
and Harwood off Powell River. I watched for quite a while and did not
see a back or tail flukes. I thought I had seen a blow earlier also,
but put it down to sea lions. This second set of blows was just too
much to ignore. It may seem silly to post this report, but we are
attempting to track animals and this would give some indication of
movement if and when a more definitive sighting is reported.
Susan
MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC
LINKS
IN THE NEWS
March
15: Hundreds of Pacific White Sided Dolphins followed by Killer
Whales in Blind Channel (yes, another Blind Channel) near
Squamish:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1210716/gallery-orcas-hunt-dolphins-in-blind-channel-near-squamish-b-c/
The
Canadian Navy has been cleared of blame in the 2012 death of a baby
southern resident killer whale, but several experts have questioned
the verdict and have asked for the investigation to be re-opened. The
link to that story is below:
One animal rescued, but hundreds
more needing help! The Vancouver Aquarium's Rescue Team has freed a
Sea Lion whose neck was stuck in plastic packing material but
estimate that there are hundreds more animals similarly trapped. Our
shorelines are littered with debris that is harmful to fish, mammals
and birds. Here is the full story on the rescue:
Search
and Rescue personnel from West Vancouver were treated to an amazing
display of dolphin agility as they performed their routine training
exercises out in Howe Sound. Here are some links to that story:
Thanks
very much to Michael Stewart, Powell River who sent us this link to
some truly amazing video of Orca getting up very close and personal
with a speed boat in the Pacific Ocean! We had posted a shorter
version of this a while back, but thought this longer version was
worth the link.
Japan
has finally admitted that a percentage of the funds intended for
tsunami victims and reconstruction have been diverted to fund their
whaling fleet:
Second
link regarding Japan's misuse of earthquake relief
funds:
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2011/12/19/international-reaction-to-japans-misuse-of-earthquake-relief-funds-1298
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2011/12/19/international-reaction-to-japans-misuse-of-earthquake-relief-funds-1298
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
We
are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society