Baleen Whales
Humpback whales are returning to various inland waterways and they are displaying common behaviours such as breaching and tail-slapping. Humpback whales are Baleen whales, meaning they have no teeth. Instead, they have long protein bristles hanging down from the top jaw of their mouth which they use to strain water and trap their prey like krill and schooling fish. Grey whales are also Baleen whales. Grey whales have been in Boundary Bay (in the Lower Mainland) during the past few weeks, with one being observed off White Rock frequently. On May 10th, two Grey whales were observed stranded in the shallow waters of Boundary Bay near Tsawwassen. Since Grey whales are bottom-feeders, it is likely the two whales stranded themselves while foraging in the shallow areas of the bay. Fortunately after a few hours, the two whales -a mother and calf- were able to swim to deeper waters when the tide came in.
Many Orca have appeared in many areas, notably around the south end of Quadra Island, Sutil Channel and Calm Channel. Some of the Orca were identified as Transient Biggs Orca (mammal-eating Orca). Some of the pods of Transients were large, around 10-12 animals each which is rare. Why are they called Transient Orca? Because these Orca do travel around a lot. For example on May 11, two Transient Orca were by Oyster Bay late in the morning travelling northward and by 4pm, they were off Browns Bay; these whales travelled over 30-km in under 5 hours.
Many Pacific White-Sided dolphins were in Discovery Passage and at the south end of Johnstone Strait. The dolphins were in various group sized with the largest being about 100 animals. Rounding our report are a few sightings of Dall’s porpoise and Harbour porpoise. Stories Beach, south of Campbell River, seems to a be location that you can observe Harbour porpoise as we have received a recent sighting report of them there as well as a report of porpoise at that location near the end of March.
If you are a boater, use caution on the water giving these animals plenty of room. Starting on June 1st, Federal laws will require boats to remain at least 400-m away when viewing Orca (currently, 200-m minimum viewing distance) and for other Cetaceans, laws require boats to remain at least 100-m from the animals. Remember N.E.W.S. when you see a whale, meaning put your boat in NEUTRAL, ENJOY the view, WAIT till the whales are at a fair distance, and then SLOWLY leave the scene.
WOWs works throught the year, so please continue to keep your eyes open, and report your sightings to us.
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The whales – which Ocean Wise confirmed were a mother and calf – seemed to be stuck off Centennial Beach by Boundary Bay. The tide was low at the time, but it appeared the whales’ bodies were still partly submerged. The tide starting coming back in as crews responded….
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Federal fisheries minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the orcas face three threats to their survival; vessel noise, pollution and a shortage of chinook salmon.
So beginning June first, the minimum distance ships have to stay from the whales is 400 metres….
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Hundreds flocked from across the country to catch a glimpse of “Benny” the beluga when the whale was spied in September by birdwatchers….
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When Darrell Blatchley, a marine mammal expert and the curator at the D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City, brought the whale back to the lab to open it up for a necropsy, he found something shocking: more than 88 pounds of plastic waste jammed into its belly….
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