1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins, Transient Bigg’s Orca, Humpback Whales and a Northern Pacific Right Whale

1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins grouped up in the lower Georgia Strait, including a link to video of them in Links in the News. A few Transient Bigg’s Orca made a brief appearance, and although I’m pretty sure there are more around, only one current report of a Humpback Whale and one inadvertently missed October report. News of another Northern Right Whale sighting is very exciting. Report and photo below. This is the second sighting in BC waters in 61 years!

There are fewer sightings reports coming in due to fewer boats on the water and some rough water making it difficult to spot Whales, Dolphins or tougher yet to spot Porpoise.

Reminder to please call or email your sighting report in. They are all valuable!

November 2: (rec’d Nov. 3rd)

Between 1 – 3 pm 6 Killer Whales in front of Campbell River by Dolphins Resort. They were headed North then turned South. (Late report from a Facebook friend.)

November 1:

1:07 pm 4 to 6 Orca including 1 big dorsal fin half way across Malaspina Strait from Texada angling South towards Stillwater. Could see them only for a short time from Albion Point / Myrtle Rocks area.

November 1:

Approx. 11 am Hi Susan, I managed to get a few marginal shots of the Orca off Grief Point but couldn’t get a more accurate count for you. My friend Julien was so excited as it was his first time to see Orca in his life and you know me, I always get excited seeing them too. The Orca seemed to be hanging around in the same place for about 30 minutes and might have possibly been feeding. We saw no breaching or porpoising behavior though! Thanks for giving me the heads up on them.

November 1:

10:15 am At least 6 Orca including a calf are Southbound in front of Powell River. They immediately disappeared behind a tree, from my vantage point, so called Steve (above) to get a better count. The whales ran beside a tug and tow for a while and reappeared briefly a couple of times before hiding behind trees again.

November 1: (rec’d Nov. 2^nd)

3 pm Just saw a massive Humpback Whale leaping way out of the water. So cool! Was on the mainland side of Welcome Pass, just South of Sechelt. (From my brother-in-law.)

October 26:

1:30 pm 3 Humpback Whales just off Earl’s Cove ferry, Sechelt peninsula. Some Steller sea lions behind them.

November 1 and November 3:

Nov. 1: 10 am & afternoon Various members of our family had the good fortune to see and follow a group of dolphins this weekend that numbered in the hundreds.

The first sighting was in the Strait of Georgia Friday morning around ten am, mid channel south of Point Roberts. We watched as hundreds of these animals schooled together playing and jumping.

Second sighting occurred in the afternoon in the same general area.

Nov. 3: 2:30 pm The third sighting occurred today around 2:30 pm. A school estimated to number in excess of 400 animals was observed travelling east along the US Canada border between Stuart Island and the south coast of Saturna Island. They were travelling at a high rate of speed. We observed them make at least four course changes as they moved through Boundary Pass towards the Strait of Georgia.
I have never seen such a large school of dolphins in these waters before. It was a real thrill.
Mark Kroeker

October 25 & 26:

Friend and colleague Brian Gisborne discovered a rare North Pacific right whale last Friday, October 25, while conducting a whale survey for the Pacific Biological Station! The whale was on Swiftsure Bank off the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait, mixed in with a group of humpback whales. Graeme Ellis, Robin Abernethy and I joined Brian the next morning and we found the whale again near the same location. It looks like a big old whale with a nasty looking but healed injury on its rostrum, likely from a past entanglement. This is a different individual than the one found off Haida Gwaii last June, and is new to the North Pacific right whale ID catalogue (less than 30 whales in that catalogue). Needless to say, we’re all pretty amazed to have two North Pacific right whales in BC waters four months apart after more than half a century without any confirmed sightings!

November 1: 1000 PWS Dolphins were spread out from the ferry that runs from Tsawwassen to Galiano Island. Someone managed a video clip that was shown in the news broadcast. This is unusual to see that many Dolphins in the lower Georgia Strait.

National Geographic Opinion: SeaWorld vs. the Whale That Killed Its Trainer

Quickly added link that was missed of a couple of fishermen rescuing a stranded Transient Bigg’s Killer Whale in Alaska in September 2013….amazing video: