Humpbacks Breaching!

A behaviour observed in Cetaceans is breaching. Humpback whales are among the species of Cetaceans that breach and one of the few species that breach regularly. A breach is when a whale is able swim rapidly towards the surface of the water and initially leaves the water vertically before the whale falls back to the water. Our cover image shows a Humpback whale engaged in a breach and almost completely out of the water. The ventral side of whale is shown with barnacles near the chin and the pleats that allows the Humpback to expand its mouth to engulf a large volume of water with its prey.

A number of Humpback whales were seen around Powell River and the north end of Texada Island. Many Transient Orca were seen in various inland waterways and on at least two occasions, the Transient Orca were observed hunting (sea lions and dolphins). Rounding our report are a few sightings of Harbour porpoises and Pacific White-Sided dolphins.

In our magazine section, read about the discovery of a new species of Beaked whales and learn how pilot whales mimic the sounds of their predators.

The Federal Government (DFO) has issued the following 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.