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Another calf for J-Pod boosts the Southern Resident Orca population! This makes eight calves in 2015. What wonderful news for these endangered whales. We've had a few Transient Bigg's Killer Whales pass through, as well as a few Unidentified Orca, but mostly in the Northern parts of the Georgia Strait, we still have Humpback Whales, and feel that they will most likely stay the duration of winter. Although we did not have any reports of Pacific White Sided Dolphins transiting the area, we did have one deceased, likely from old age, wash ashore in Powell River.
We would like to wish you and yours all the very best of the Holidays and a Happy New Year! A reminder also that we continue to monitor, track and post sightings information all year round, so keep the reports coming.
Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society
Annual General Meeting
Wild Ocean Whale Society's Annual General Meeting is scheduled for January 19, 2016 in Powell River. Please Contact us if you wish to participate or have any general queries.
Volunteers are needed!
Would you like to Volunteer and be a part of our growing Society?
Review our current Volunteer Job Postings
For our DONATE page click here
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 2015-044
TRANSIENT BIGG'S KILLER WHALES
Fri Dec 04 2015
13:54 • 7 Bigg`s Orca hunting, off the lookout at Van Anda Cove, Texada Island, Malaspina Strait. I saw that family of seven from the look out in VanAnda and followed them past Erickson to the pier. That is where I saw them tustle with something and the water went pink and red like in the splash. ▫ Observed from Shore
Alexis Kowal, Texada Island
Transient Bigg' s Killer Whales
Fri Dec 04 2015 - 5 Images / Media Files
Alexis Kowal, Texada Island
Transient Bigg' s Killer Whales
Fri Dec 04 2015 - 5 Images / Media Files
Alexis Kowal, Texada Island
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES
Fri Dec 18 2015
10:04 • 6 Orca heading North angling from Mitlenatch Island, Discovery Passage. ▫ Observed from Shore
09:44 • 6 Orca at Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Elvis Chikite, Eagle Eye Adventures
HUMPBACK WHALES
Sat Dec 19 2015
10:30 • 2 Humpback Whale heading South-East close to the beach off Icarus Point, Lantzville, Georgia Strait.
Ade Barnum, N.Nanaimo
09:45 • 2 Humpback Whale couple hundred yards off shore by the North end of Nanaimo, Georgia Strait. There are at least two of them and they have been hanging out in same area for about an hour.
Jim & Janice Vawter, Nanaimo
Fri Dec 18 2015
13:58 • 2 Humpback Whale right off Mystery Reef marker Savary Island, Malaspina Strait. They're doing long dives. ▫ From Power or Sail Boat
John Lewis, Discovery Marine Safaris
Wed Dec 16 2015
15:30 • 3 Humpback Whale playing, meandering between Harwood Island to Vivian Island and back in Georgia Strait. They wound up back closer to Harwood Island after heading out to pick up a number of sea lions to play with. Still playing when left . ▫ Leaving the Scene
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 6 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 6 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
12:02 • 3 Humpback Whale between Rebecca Rock and Powell River, Algerine Passage. ▫ On Scene
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 7 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 7 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
10:48 • 2 Humpback Whale breaching, heading North closer to the spit off Harwood Island, Malaspina Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Barry Pennell, Powell River, BC
09:22 • 2 Humpback Whale in front of the sandbanks of Harwood Island, Powell River side Malaspina Strait. ▫ Second Hand
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 7 Images / Media Files
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
Humpback Whales
Wed Dec 16 2015 - 7 Images / Media Files
Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC
08:27 • 2 Humpback Whale travelling, heading South off the Big Rock, Campbell River in Discovery Passage. So great to see them still here, just off big rock Campbell River side, heading south. ▫ Observed from Shore
Corinne Barker, Cape Mudge Lightstation
Mon Dec 14 2015
13:55 • 1 Humpback Whale heading North in front of Westview, Powell River, Malaspina Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Barry Pennell, Powell River, BC
10:09 • 2 Humpback Whale heading South between Van Anda Cove and Myrtle Rocks, Malaspina Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
John and Joan Treen, Powell River and Savary Island, BC
08:49 • 2 Humpback Whale between Rebecca Rock and Harwood Island, Georgia Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Sun Dec 13 2015
15:20 • 1 Humpback Whale breaching, heading North-East from Harwood Island towards the Powell River mill Malaspina Strait. Saw one breach and a couple of splashes. ▫ Observed from Shore
Barry Pennell, Powell River, BC
15:03 • 2 Humpback Whale breaching, between Harwood Island and Powell River in Malaspina Strait. ▫ Observed from Shore
John and Joan Treen, Powell River and Savary Island, BC
Fri Dec 11 2015
16:31 • 2 Humpback Whale off Limekiln Bay on Texada Island in Strait of Georgia. ▫ Observed from Shore
Micheline Macauley, Texada Island, BC
15:40 • 5 Humpback Whale breaching, off Rebecca Rock, Powell River in Strait of Georgia. ◦BCX0380, Zed◦ Three Humpbacks headed towards Vancouver Island and two headed towards Texada Island. Not sure yet who the other Humpbacks were. ▫ Leaving the Scene
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Fri Dec 11 2015 - 6 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Humpback Whales
Fri Dec 11 2015 - 6 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
13:30 • 1 Humpback Whale ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Thu Dec 10 2015
13:00 • 2 Humpback Whale playing, heading North off Maple Bay on the West Coast of Texada Island in Strait of Georgia. These are the first 2 Humpbacks seen inside Maple Bay. They were being followed by and played with by a large number of Steller Sea Lions. The Sea Lions were in formation swimming with, going under and along side them. They also were surfing though the top of some large breaking swells. This looked as though they were herding them.
Either this was harassment or playing. But the whales did not leave for quite some time. The Whales were going around in circles, diving and generally flipping around like Dolphins. ▫ Observed from Shore
James Mack, Texada Island.
FIN WHALES
Mon Nov 30 2015
10:00 • 1 Fin Whale travelling, heading North ◦Potentially younger◦ This Fin Whale may be the same Adolescent that was spotted in the San Juan Islands around June of 2015. It was not full length - looked very healthy. ▫ Observed from Shore
James Mack, Texada Island.
PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Mon Dec 14 2015
15:00 • 1 PWS Dolphins on the beach off Powell River, Malaspina Strait. Dead Dolphin washed ashore and was reported. Based on the size of the animal, the way the teeth are worn and no signs of predation, it appears this Dolphin died of old age. I assisted Fisheries load the animal so that a necropsy could be performed at a later time. We have not received any sightings reports of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in the area for quite some time, but it is possible the animal washed ashore in the night.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Mon Dec 14 2015 - 3 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Mon Dec 14 2015 - 3 Images / Media Files
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP 2015-044
The Magazine
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.
Please look for the Magazine Submissions Button at the bottom of the page and in the top sidebar, and for our Original Material Guidelines at the bottom of the Magazine.
REGIONAL & WEST COAST
CBC News
After years of population decline, the population of Southern Resident killer whales is on the rise this year with the Birth of J54 to J28, a 22-year-old female which is also the mother of a female born in 2009, named J46, which still survives.
The Huffington Post B.C.
A species of dolphin that's never been seen alive in B.C. before has been spotted flourishing off the coast of Vancouver Island.
Two pods of short-beaked common dolphins were seen just outside the Juan de Fuca strait in September.
Powell River Peak
More whales spotted in the Georgia Strait this year. It has been an outstanding year for humpback sightings, according to local watchers, with many of the ocean-going mammals spotted from shore or BC Ferries....
Terry L. Brown and Jude Abrams
Terry Brown's Welcoming Whales project includes an exciting video from this Summer of Humpback whales breaching in Jervis Inlet, near Saltery Bay, on the Sunshine Coast south of Powell River. "....They were far away when breaching, about a kilometre, hence the sound reaches us about 4 seconds after the visual! I’ve kept this timing to give a sense of what it’s like to be there. Still exciting!"
We look forward to sharing more of Terry's videos here in the future, or click our Read the Article link to see more Welcoming Whale project videos, as well as other sea-life on The Amphibiographer site.
Nature World News
Researchers from the University of Washington (UW) teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to examine how much noise produced by individual boats actually reaches whales in the inland waters of Washington and the British Columbia – areas that are home to an increasing number of ferries, whale watching cruises, fishing boats and shipping vessels......
INTERNATIONAL
Press Association
Extraordinary images conjured from a dolphin's sonar have revealed how the creature "sees" a human swimmer using echolocation.
Scientists produced the blurred outlines of a submerged man after recording the sonar signals with an underwater microphone and converting them into pictures.
Sophisticated processing was used to transcribe the way sound waves imprint themselves on water and create the images.
boingboing.net, Australia
Humpback whales with albinism are extremely rare, so it was a real treat when one appeared off the coast of Australia this week.
Fun fact: many whales' blowholes are actually two v-shaped bilateral holes, which is much easier to see on a white whale (at about 22 seconds into this video)
New Scientist
Frighteningly effective hunting methods have become something of a speciality for a pod of killer whales off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina.
The pod has been seen tricking dolphins into an ambush. Orcas have been filmed hunting dolphins before, but never using such a complex group-hunting technique.
Live Science
Underwater mountains are key stopovers in the migratory routes of an endangered population of humpback whales in the South Pacific, new research shows.
iO9
European eels are critically endangered. To better understand their lives, researchers tracked them during a migration. Suddenly, three trackers returned very strange data. What, oh what, could have happened?
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.
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.
For our DONATE page click here
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Call
1-877-323-9776