Wild Whales News
What happens when you report a dead whale?
Written by: Shanti Thurber, Haida Gwaii Coordinator A couple of weeks ago, a 38-foot lifeless whale was spotted floating off the shore of Grey Bay. This is the story of what happened after it was called into the DFO Incident Reporting Line. Many things wash into the...
Whale whale whale… where is Surf?
Written by Ashley Bachert, North Coast Coordinator Every year in Prince Rupert, locals await the annual spring visit from a family of northern resident killer whales known as the A42s. The A42 matriline is led by A42 “Sonora”. Accompanying her are her 5 offspring and...
Happy World Oceans Day from Ocean Wise’s Whales Initiative!
Today marks the international celebration of World Oceans Day. Originally brought to fruition in 1992 at the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, the goal of the day was to inspire appreciation and stewardship of the ocean. By 2008 the UN General...
Send a sighting, save a whale… by downloading the latest version of the WhaleReport App!
In preparation for another busy whale season, we’ve made some exciting updates to the WhaleReport app! We are encouraging all citizen scientists to download the newest version of the WhaleReport App and keep contributing to cetacean conservation throughout the waters...
Winter Migrations: Fieldwork and familiar flukes on the North Coast
By Erin Woodley, NCCRI Research Assistant Prince Rupert in early March averages a balmy high of 6°C and is more likely to be experiencing rain than not. So, armed with mountains of fleece and rubber rain gear, I was excited to be heading up to the North Coast to join...
Following The Whale Trail: Land-Based Whale Watching on Vancouver Island’s East Coast
By Kayla Jones, BCCSN Coordinator Recently, SVICRI’s Aaron Purdy and I took a trip up the east coast of Vancouver Island to visit a few of B.C.’s many land-based whale watching locations, known as “The Whale Trail BC”. These locations were established in partnership...
Rare Visitors to the Salish Sea: How your sightings contribute to real-time science
By Erin Woodley, NCCRI Research Assistant On a sunny afternoon in late January, the Whales team at Ocean Wise was a hub of excitement. A WhaleReport sighting had just landed in our inbox with a report of Risso’s dolphins in the inner Salish Sea! Not many emails bring...
The grey days of winter: Why the grey whale off the Victoria coast is unusual, and what you can do to help
By Dr. Chloe Robinson, SVICRI Research Manager Over the past two weeks, people of the Greater Victoria area have been treated to sightings of a somewhat unusual visitor for the time of year! Grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are more commonly found in the warm...
The Familiar Fins of Winter
Post written by Gary Sutton, Research Technician with the Whales Initiative at Ocean Wise This past week has brought some familiar fins to the Sunshine Coast and Howe Sound. However, they aren't the typical fins one might expect to see in these waters! A family of...
Springer Expecting – Rescued Killer Whale Pregnant with Her Third Calf!
In early 2002, after the death of her mother, a young northern resident killer whale named Springer (A73) showed up alone and in poor health in Washington State's Puget Sound. An unprecedented rescue effort brought together scientists, government officials and...
A Windy Welcome
Written by: Gary Sutton, Photogrammetry Research Assistant I had been waiting with much anticipation to start my first season with the Ocean Wise Photogrammetry Research Team as a vessel operator and photo ID specialist, joining Principal Investigator and drone pilot,...
The Humpback Comeback
Written by: Gary Sutton, Photogrammetry Research Assistant If you find yourself on a boat crossing the Strait of Georgia today, there is a good chance of spotting a huge fifteen-foot, tall misty spout from a 35-ton humpback whale. However, this wasn't always the case....
Sei What?! Researchers spot a large group of critically endangered sei whales off the coast of British Columbia.
Over the weekend, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Cetacean Research Program researchers spotted a large aggregation of 25-30 sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) while conducting a marine mammal survey 300 kilometres offshore of Vancouver Island. The team is part of...
California Dreaming
Bigg's killer whale T132 (CA20) Written by: Gary Sutton The Canada/U.S. border shutdown due to Covid hasn't stopped whales from crossing the line. The weekend of May 28 brought a rare visit from a group of Bigg’s killer whales that are more commonly seen in...
Join us this June 24 for Naturalist Night 2021!
Join local cetacean experts for an evening of whale education, discussion, and networking! Are you a marine naturalist located in the Pacific Northwest? Keen to learn about local marine mammal research and much more? Join us online this June 24 for Naturalist Night...
Endangered Species Day: Deceased Humpback on Haida Gwaii reminds us of what is at stake and what we can do!
Written by: Emily Lytle Walking down the beach near the Tlell River Mouth shows a sad scene: a humpback whale lays lifeless on the shore, its body distended and deteriorating. The Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) identified this whale as "Kayak", a young...
The WhaleReport Web App: Introducing a New Way to Report Whale Sightings!
If you’ve ever reported sightings to us before, you’ve likely come across our webform, hosted on our wildwhales.org website. Although functional, the aging webform had one major drawback. Unlike reports submitted via the WhaleReport mobile app, any reports submitted...
Your Sightings at Work! Reducing the risk of ship strike and disturbance with the click of a button.
Written by: Jessica Scott, WRAS Manager In British Columbia, we are lucky to share our waters with over 26 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises (cetaceans), from the diminutive harbour porpoise to the mighty blue whale. Unfortunately, the increasing marine...
