Southern resident killer whales make first major appearance in Salish Sea after 109 days
Southern resident killer whales made a splash off the coast of B.C. in the Haro Strait on Tuesday evening. It was the first major sighting of the endangered orcas in quite some time.
"A pretty amazing moment actually, because the fog had really moved in, in the late afternoon, and we started hearing vocalizations of the killer whales over the Lime Kiln Hydrophone," said Monika Shields, director of the Orca Behavior Institute.
"And shortly after that the fog cleared right as the whales were coming across the strait, so it was a beautiful evening to see them from San Juan Island," she said.
According to Shields, orcas from all three of the southern resident killer whale pods were in attendance.
"We saw a big portion of K-Pod, about half of L-Pod and at least one family group from J-Pod," said Shields.
Since the 1970’s researchers have considered the inland waters off Vancouver Island as the southern resident’s core summer habitat, from April to September. However, this year the orcas have been mostly absent from the Salish Sea.
Before Tuesday, it had been more than 100 days since anyone saw J-Pod in the Salish Sea, and L-Pod had not been spotted since February.
According to the Orca Behaviour Institute, their absence is connected to a dwindling food supply.
"It’s definitely sounding the alarm bells as to what’s happening with those Fraser River salmon runs that they depend on," said Shields.
"This area is of big cultural importance to the whales as well. This is where they would all come together as an entire community, and it’s probably when a lot of the breeding would happen," she said.
While there is concern over food supply, researchers are feeling optimistic about one of the whales in particular.
"We did see the youngest member of the southern resident population, the newest calf, L-125, who was just born earlier this year," said Shields.
"It was really exciting to see that little one, and it looked to be doing quite well."
But, as quickly as they appeared, the southern resident killer whales seemingly vanished once again.
As of mid-day Wednesday, there have been no further sightings reported.
"The thought is that maybe they turned around and just went right back west again," said Shields. "We’ll see if there are any reports that come in today, but it may have been a very short visit."
Now, the Orca Behavior Institute will begin to increase its monitoring of the orcas to try and determine where they are going and what they are eating. Shields says they will also monitor the killer whales’ physical form to find out if they are getting enough to eat.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.