DFO investigating dead porpoise found near Victoria
Authorities are investigating Wednesday after the body of a porpoise was discovered on a beach near Victoria.
The discovery at Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood, B.C., was first reported to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) as a beached killer whale. But fisheries officers on scene determined it was actually the body of a Dall's porpoise, a species commonly found off the West Coast.
"We don't see them a whole lot in this area, especially inshore here," said Willi Jansen, an officer with the DFO's whale protection unit out of Victoria.
While the animal appeared to have some lacerations on its body, the DFO says it's too early to determine the cause of death.
The porpoise was loaded into a DFO truck Wednesday afternoon with the help of some beachgoers, and will be transported to a provincial lab in the Vancouver area.
"It will go back into our freezer and then be taken over to the Lower Mainland to the vet there to do a full necropsy to figure out how it died," said Jansen.
She estimated the animal weighed approximately 300 to 400 pounds.
"It was too big even for the body bag that we had so we put it on a stretcher and carried it up with the help of the public, which was much appreciated," Jansen told CTV News.
The DFO asks the public to report similar discoveries to its fisheries hotline at 1-800-465-4336.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.