Southern Resident Orca are back into the upper Georgia Strait, which has become a regular winter trek for them. Humpback Whales are still milling about the area and we've included a special video clip of two of them visiting a boat on New Year's Day. We've also included another special video clip of an amazing 3D Hologram of a Humpback Whale. Some of our Unidentified Killer Whales reports are Transient Bigg's, but we've not been able to confirm IDs. On a sadder note, there have been a few other Cetacean deaths. One Orca washed up near Tofino; most likely a Transient Bigg's juvenile and definitely not a Southern Resident. Another juvenile, a Humpback Whale washed up in Puget Sound and had numerous intestinal parasites; no ID. Then there was a Dall's Porpoise on the beach below Campbell River; no necropsy was performed.
At the time of writing this there are reports coming in of the Southern Resident Orca foraging around again in the upper Georgia Strait in the fog.
Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society
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Society News
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.
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We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
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Sightings Update
SIGHTINGS MAP 2016-001
SOUTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALES
Fri Dec 25 2015
14:17 • SRKW Orca off of Mitlenatch Island in Strait of Georgia. ◦A mix of J-Pod, K-Pod and L-Pod◦
Simon Piddock, Cowichan, BC
14:16 • 50 SRKW Orca Over 50 Orca, in every direction. Wow! Lots of babies too! Looks like they are hunting in a big debris field - lots of logs and stuff in the water.
Lyndell Weldon, Eagle Eye Adventures
14:01 • 20 SRKW Orca heading South West of Mitlenatch Island.
Jerry Weldon, Eagle Eye Adventures
UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES
Thu Jan 07 2016
09:57 • 4 Orca heading South moving lazily towards Grief Point, Powell River, Malaspina Strait. There's one large male in the pod. ▫ Observed from Shore
Liz and Ted Douglas, Powell River
09:57 • 4-5 Orca heading South off the bottom of Penticton Street, Powell River. ▫ Observed from Shore
Shirley Randall, Beacon B&B, Powell River, BC
09:38 • Orca heading South slowly just off the Westview Harbour breakwater Powell River.
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris
Wed Dec 30 2015
14:33 • 3 Orca milling, near Blubber Bay on Texada Island in Malaspina Strait. The Orca all looked small. ▫ From Power or Sail Boat
Eric Green, Powell River CCG
14:15 • 2-3 Orca off the North end of Texada Island in Malaspina Strait. The Orca were heading towards Blubber Bay. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
14:00 • 6 Orca doing circles, heading North-West off Lund finally headed towards Hernando Island in Malaspina Strait. They were smaller with small dorsal fins and looked like a couple of young with them.they came from Mystery Reef and swam between the Iron Mines and Savary. When they got near Lund the spy hopped a couple of times and started to do circles. It appeared that they were feeding as many sea gulls joined them at the surface. After a bit they swam toward the Ragged Islands and then
headed South of Major Rock and then off to Hernando.
Gord Chouinard, Lund Seaside Inn, BC
Unidentified Killer Whales
Wed Dec 30 2015 - 8 Images / Media Files
Gord Chouinard, Lund Seaside Inn, BC
Unidentified Killer Whales
Wed Dec 30 2015 - 8 Images / Media Files
Gord Chouinard, Lund Seaside Inn, BC
13:56 • Orca off Eagle Cove on Texada Island in Malaspina Strait. ▫ From Power or Sail Boat
Eric Green, Powell River CCG
Mon Dec 28 2015
14:05 • Orca breaching, heading South off Bates Beach in Strait of Georgia. A pod of Orca was observed from across the Strait from Powell River. One breach was observed. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Thu Dec 24 2015
16:25 • Orca heading North off Black (Albion) Point in Malaspina Strait. A pod of Orca passed our place heading North. There appears to be two babies with them. ▫ Observed from Shore
Bill Taylor, Powell River
16:13 • 1 Orca heading North by Myrtle Rocks. Orca was a male. ▫ Observed from Shore
Jim Southern, Powell River
Humpback Whales wish boaters a very personal Happy New Year off Nanaimo.
Video by Kyle Noble
Humpback Whales wish boaters a very personal Happy New Year off Nanaimo.
Video by Kyle Noble
HUMPBACK WHALES
Sat Jan 02 2016
15:10 • 1 Humpback Whale tail lobs, heading South-East near Telegraph Harbour in Haro Strait. Seen from home near Telegraph Cove. About 3 - 4 minutes of tail slapping in one location out near buoy in Haro Strait and then travelling in south easterly direction surfacing every minute or two. ▫ Observed from Shore
Sonja MacLeod, Victoria BC
Wed Dec 30 2015
14:18 • 2 Humpback Whale North of Comox in Strait of Georgia. The spouts of the Humpback Whales were observed across the Strait from Powell River. ▫ Observed from Shore
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins B.C.
Tue Dec 29 2015
11:30 • 2 Humpback Whale breaching, heading South-East off Gravelly Bay on Denman Island in Lambert Channel. About 50-m offshore. Seemed to be blowing and breaching in tandem. ▫ Observed from Shore
Pat and Fraser Wilson, Nanaimo
Sun Dec 20 2015
13:00 • 1 Humpback Whale off Locke Bay on Gabriola Island in Strait of Georgia. The original sighting, from Peter Statham, reported the Humpback as an albino. ▫ Second Hand
Bill Stacey, .
13:00 • 1 Humpback Whale at Locke Bay, Gabriola Island, Strait of Georgia. Possible Albino Humpback! The whale was so white that at first it looked like a Beluga. The Humpback appeared to be just below the surface and had moved off by the time I got binoculars. It was approximately 35 feet long and lay relatively still until it rolled a bit and showed a bit of the flipper. (We have contacted the caller for further details. However, without photo evidence, we believe that it is possiblle that this animal was either the young Humpback that washed ashore dead in Washington State, or a Grey Whale which could give the appearance of being very light in colour underwater. -SM). ▫ Observed from Shore
Peter Statham, Gabriola Island
PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Wed Dec 30 2015
09:50 • PWS Dolphins heading South between Willow Point and Mitlenatch Island in Strait of Georgia. Cannot confirm because of distance but looks like a large group of PWDs off of Willow Point (2.5nm) towards Mitlenatch Island. Heading south under flat calm conditions.
Roger McDonell, Stubbs Island Whale Watching
DALL'S PORPOISE
Sun Jan 03 2016
12:04 • 6-8 Dall`s Porpoise heading North by Copper Cliffs heading towards Seymour Narrows, Discovery Passage. They flew by us and one of them grabbed a fishing lure we were using. ▫ From Power or Sail Boat
Scotty Matheson, Campbell River
Fri Dec 25 2015
09:00 • 1 Dall`s Porpoise at Miracle Beach Park East of Black Creek in Strait of Georgia. Unfortunately it was dead on Miracle Beach Provincial Park. ▫ On Scene
Wayne Mackenzie, Black Creek
Dall's Porpoise
Fri Dec 25 2015 - 1 Images / Media Files
Wayne Mackenzie, Black Creek
Dall's Porpoise
Fri Dec 25 2015 - 1 Images / Media Files
Wayne Mackenzie, Black Creek
SIGHTINGS HEAT MAP 2016-001
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
Earth Island Journal, CA
If passed, legislation would prohibit acquisition and captive breeding of cetaceans
A federal bill to end dolphin and whale captivity throughout Canada was reintroduced by Nova Scotia Senator Wilfred Moore in early December. The bill first made its appearance this pastsummer, at a time when the conservative Harper government held sway over Parliament. However, with the changing political climate in Canada — namely, the new Trudeau administration — things may be looking up for the whales and dolphins.
News 1130
Vancouver, BC
The 400-pound carcass was transferred to Abbotsford, where a necropsy was conducted on Christmas Day. Scientists are still awaiting results of tissue-sample testing and a cause of death is not yet known.
Hawaii Tribune-Herald, HI
“Even though there are no formal surveys in December, the numbers clearly are down,” said Ed Lyman, a Maui-based resource protection manager and response coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whales National Marine Sanctuary.
“What I’m seeing out there right now I would have expected a month ago,” Lyman said. “We’ve just seen a handful of whales.”
Takepart
Noise pollution from ships imperils Southern Resident orcas that depend on sound to communicate and find food and mates. This survey of threats and actions being taken around the world highlights the work of the Port of Metro Vancouver which has initiated a research program to better understand and manage shipping’s impacts on whales. It's called Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation, and officials just installed a hydrophone in the inbound shipping lane at the port. ....
Student Science. CA
In many parts of the world, people take boats to go whale watching. In places like the Gulf of Alaska, it can work the other way. There, sperm whales often go “boat watching” and follow fishermen. The clever mammals have learned to snatch black cod off longlines before crews can haul their catch of fish out of water.
CANADA
CBC News
Whale watching is continuing beyond the usual tourist season in Bonne Bay, on Newfoundland's west coast, and one scientist is tracking a possible link to climate change.
Canada Parks and Wilderness Association
CPAWS
DARE TO BE DEEP, CPAWs Annual report on Canada’s progress in protecting our ocean reviews Canada's international committment to protecting 10% of all marine space in Marine Protected Areas, why only 1% is protected in MPAs to date, and makes a series of recommendations on a path forward.
The report reveals that the level of protection that are intended to protectour most precious marine species and habitats such as Robsons Bite on Johnstone Str., are weak, and too many harmful industrial practices are allowed to continue even after an MPA is legally designated. This is in stark contrast to the protection we afford our terrestrial protected areas.
Mainstreet, Halifax
CBC Radio, Halifax, NS
CBC Halifax Dalhousie University Ocean's commentator puts forward his wish list for each of Canada's Oceans for 2016.
Wishes for Canada's Pacific Coast include the treatment of the Pacific Garbage Patch and the resolve the CO2 dump leading to acidification of our Coastal Waters.
INTERNATIONAL
Ecorazzi
In a groundbreaking decision, India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests has declared dolphins as ‘non-human persons’ and as such has forbidden their captivity for entertainment purposes.
Mother Nature Network
"Imagine hearing a heartbeat-like sound in the ocean but not knowing the source," the nonprofit group says in a statement. "Whale Trust researchers spent a decade listening for these sounds and wondering what they were. Finally, on a calm glassy day these sounds were recorded within a few meters of a pair of humpback whales."
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
