Only Orca reported!

Over the past two weeks, only sightings of Orca were received. Of those sightings, most of them were of Transient Orca and there was one confirmed sighting of Northern Resident Orca. These Orca were mainly observed around Powell River, Campbell River, and at the east end of Johnstone Strait. A couple of pods were seen hunting but there was no indication if the Orca were sucessful or not. On other occasions. two pods were observed swimming against the tide. One pod was not able to make any headway swimming against the tide which may have indicated how strong the tidal flow was on that particular day. Some pods were observed with one or more Orca with a large dorsal fin, which are adult males with fins that could be as high as 2 meters. Keep looking when you are near the water – Cetaceans are out there!

Turn to our Magazine section to see some amazing video footage of two Blue whales breaching at the same time and to see how one Humpback whale survived continuous attacks by Orca off the waters of Australia. Read about how whale biologists get tissue samples from whales to study their health and to determine any pollutants in their bodies.

The Federal Government (DFO) statement about watching whales in the wild: “To address disturbance in the presence of whales, a mandatory 400-metre vessel approach distance for all killer whales is in effect starting June 1, 2020 in all southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and just north of Ucluelet. The Marine Mammal Regulations continue to remain in effect year-round, including maintaining a minimum 200 metre approach distance from all killer whales in Canadian Pacific waters other than described above, and 100 metres for other whales, porpoises and dolphins OR 200 metres when the animal is in resting position or with a calf.”

WOWs works throught the year, so please continue to keep your eyes open, and report your sightings to us.