'It's really exciting': Rare white orca spotted on northern Vancouver Island
Orca sightings on Vancouver Island aren't rare, but they're always thrilling, and that was especially true for a group of aquaculture workers on the North Island this week.
Mike Dobbs was one of a dozen Mowi Canada employees mesmerized by a rare white orca and its mother. The cetaceans had come extremely close to shore in Beaver Cove, near the village of Telegraph Cove, B.C.
"We didn’t understand what the white whale was," Dobbs said. "We didn’t recognize it as an orca at first. (Our) first concern and (the) first alarming thing was that they were on the beach."
Researchers have named the white whale "Frostbite." The animal was born in 2019, and is part of a group of outer coast transient killer whales never spotted in B.C. before, according to researcher Josh McInnes.
"It’s not unexpected to see these groups (of whales) hunting around harbour seal haulouts or sea lion haulouts, but for this particular group of whales who spend most of their time in deep waters off of California or Oregon, we don’t see them in close proximity to land," McInnes said.
He said the white calf and its mother are included in a new catalogue of 155 whales he has spent the last six years compiling.
"We’ve never had a report of (these two) outside of California," he said. "This showed an interesting trend for a new mother. She might just be exploring, getting to know other transient groups for potential mating purposes … It’s really exciting."
McInnes said the Beaver Cove sighting was important and rare, something that didn't occur to Dobbs as he was recording it.
"The gravity of what I’d witnessed didn’t hit me until much later that evening when I was decompressing and people were reaching out to me," Dobbs said.
According to McInnes, Frostbite, its mother and the rest of the outer coast transients are expected to be back on their way to California soon.
With files from CTV News Vancouver Island's Gord Kurbis
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.