Whales

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research

Researchers name newest baby orca spotted off Vancouver Island

K45 is K Pod’s first baby since 2011

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research
A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research

Researchers name newest baby orca spotted in B.C. waters

K45 is K Pod’s first baby since 2011

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research
Bigg’s killer whale. (Sam Murphy/Island Adventures/PWWA)

VIDEO: Captivating sounds of whales recorded off shore of B.C.

The perfect overlap of circumstances led to a special whale watching experience

Bigg’s killer whale. (Sam Murphy/Island Adventures/PWWA)
Citizen scientists in the Gulf Islands are worried humpback whales are being stressed by too much time with whale watching vessels. (Black Press Media file photo)

Citizen science whale observers worry humpbacks being harassed

One mother whale and her calf followed for upwards of 5 hours a day recently, says volunteer group

Citizen scientists in the Gulf Islands are worried humpback whales are being stressed by too much time with whale watching vessels. (Black Press Media file photo)
A pod of narwhals surfaces in northern Canada in this August 2005 file photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Inuit hunters fear an upcoming ruling on an Arctic mine expansion could hasten the ongoing decline of a narwhal population that they rely on for food. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kristin Laidre, NOAA

Inuit fear ruling on Arctic mine expansion could hasten ongoing narwhal decline

Hunters and trappers say mine is already harming their ability to harvest the important food source

A pod of narwhals surfaces in northern Canada in this August 2005 file photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Inuit hunters fear an upcoming ruling on an Arctic mine expansion could hasten the ongoing decline of a narwhal population that they rely on for food. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kristin Laidre, NOAA
A boat cruises past a lifeless humpback whale drifting down the St. Lawrence River near Vercheres, Que. on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The head of a marine mammal research group is confirming that a whale has been spotted in the Montreal area, for the second time in two years. The sighting comes nearly two years after another whale, this time a humpback, spent several days in plain view of curious onlookers in Montreal’s Old Port. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Marine mammal group confirms sighting of wayward minke whale in Montreal area

Researchers not clear why the whale would make such a long journey into a freshwater habitat

A boat cruises past a lifeless humpback whale drifting down the St. Lawrence River near Vercheres, Que. on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The head of a marine mammal research group is confirming that a whale has been spotted in the Montreal area, for the second time in two years. The sighting comes nearly two years after another whale, this time a humpback, spent several days in plain view of curious onlookers in Montreal’s Old Port. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Big Mama’s newest calf is seen playing on its back in Boundary Pass May 2. (Val Shore, Eagle Wing Tours, PWWA)

First Salish Sea humpback calf of 2022 makes playful entrance off B.C.’s coast

The new calf is the seventh to be born to famous Salish Sea humpback Big Mama

Big Mama’s newest calf is seen playing on its back in Boundary Pass May 2. (Val Shore, Eagle Wing Tours, PWWA)
A screenshot from a YouTube video shot by John Goodell appears to show a very young calf (second from left) swimming alongside members of the southern resident killer whale’s K-pod. (John Goodell/YouTube)

VIDEO: First calf in a decade spotted swimming with K-pod off Oregon coast

YouTube video shows young calf swimming alongside southern resident killer whales

A screenshot from a YouTube video shot by John Goodell appears to show a very young calf (second from left) swimming alongside members of the southern resident killer whale’s K-pod. (John Goodell/YouTube)
Measures have returned to protect southern resident killer whales in BC waters. Black Press Media file photo

Transport Canada introduces added measures to protect southern resident killer whales

The Canadian government is once again putting measures in place to protect…

Measures have returned to protect southern resident killer whales in BC waters. Black Press Media file photo
Nuchatlaht First Nation Judae Smith, left, yelps as a wave splashes the team during a marine mammal refloatation exercise at Cox Bay last week. (Nora O’Malley photo)

All hands on deck for whale rescue training at Cox Bay, Tofino

DFO teams up with Coastal First Nations and local marine mammal experts

Nuchatlaht First Nation Judae Smith, left, yelps as a wave splashes the team during a marine mammal refloatation exercise at Cox Bay last week. (Nora O’Malley photo)
Three beluga whales swim together in an acclimation pool after arriving at Mystic Aquarium, May 14, 2021 in Mystic, Conn. The U.S. government is reviewing the deaths of two beluga whales that were moved from Marineland in Canada to an American aquarium last year. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Mystic Aquarium, File)

U.S. government reviewing deaths of two belugas moved from Canada to Connecticut

DFO approved permits for the whales after receiving an ‘attestation of good health for each beluga’

Three beluga whales swim together in an acclimation pool after arriving at Mystic Aquarium, May 14, 2021 in Mystic, Conn. The U.S. government is reviewing the deaths of two beluga whales that were moved from Marineland in Canada to an American aquarium last year. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Mystic Aquarium, File)
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Response Team members remove baleen from a dead fin whale as they perform a necropsy at Pender Harbour, B.C., in a March 20, 2022, handout photo. The head veterinarian at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Centre and the Vancouver Aquarium says it is concerning when such rare animals die because it affects the population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DFO, Paul Cottrell,

Rare fin whale found dead on remote beach in British Columbia

Exams suggest two-year-old whale was killed by blunt force trauma from a possible vessel strike

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Response Team members remove baleen from a dead fin whale as they perform a necropsy at Pender Harbour, B.C., in a March 20, 2022, handout photo. The head veterinarian at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Centre and the Vancouver Aquarium says it is concerning when such rare animals die because it affects the population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DFO, Paul Cottrell,
Recreational boaters in Greater Victoria are encouraged to be on the lookout for whale warning flags that indicate whales are within one kilometre, as well as educate themselves on boating best practices when whales are in the vicinity. (Photo courtesy of Erin Gless)

Group looks to better protect whales from human-caused hazards

About 50 actions to prevent whales from being harmed took place in Greater Victoria waters last year

Recreational boaters in Greater Victoria are encouraged to be on the lookout for whale warning flags that indicate whales are within one kilometre, as well as educate themselves on boating best practices when whales are in the vicinity. (Photo courtesy of Erin Gless)
Rainy, or T011A, was spotted in the Sooke Basin on Monday. (Courtesy of Mollie Naccarato/Pacific Imagery)

Orca named Rainy spotted in Sooke Basin

Local wildlife photographer hasn’t seen him in the Sooke Basin since September 2019

Rainy, or T011A, was spotted in the Sooke Basin on Monday. (Courtesy of Mollie Naccarato/Pacific Imagery)
On March 1- a new calf in J Pod was discovered. Photo by Centre for Whale Research

New addition to B.C.’s Southern Resident orca family

New baby discovered in the coast’s embattled J-Pod

On March 1- a new calf in J Pod was discovered. Photo by Centre for Whale Research
FILE - Three beluga whales swim together in an acclimation pool after arriving at Mystic Aquarium, May 14, 2021 in Mystic, Conn. The second of five whales brought from Canada to Mystic Aquarium last year for research purposes has died. The aquarium announced on its website that the female had been receiving intensive care for the past several months for multiple health issues but died early Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Mystic Aquarium)

2nd of 5 whales brought from Canada to Mystic Aquarium dies

The two whales were among five brought to Mystic last spring from Marineland in Niagara Falls

FILE - Three beluga whales swim together in an acclimation pool after arriving at Mystic Aquarium, May 14, 2021 in Mystic, Conn. The second of five whales brought from Canada to Mystic Aquarium last year for research purposes has died. The aquarium announced on its website that the female had been receiving intensive care for the past several months for multiple health issues but died early Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Mystic Aquarium)
The most recent Bigg’s killer whale calf, T124A7, breaches the water alongside three adult members of the pod. (Karac Lindsay/Eagle Wing Tours, courtesy of Pacific Whale Watch Association)

2021 brought record sightings, many newborn whale calves to Victoria waters

Whale researchers report 21 new humpback calves in the Salish Sea

The most recent Bigg’s killer whale calf, T124A7, breaches the water alongside three adult members of the pod. (Karac Lindsay/Eagle Wing Tours, courtesy of Pacific Whale Watch Association)
The most recent Bigg’s killer whale calf, T124A7, breaches the water alongside three adult members of the pod. (Karac Lindsay/Eagle Wing Tours, courtesy of Pacific Whale Watch Association)

2021 brought record sightings, many newborn whale calves to Greater Victoria waters

Whale researchers report 21 new humpback calves in the Salish Sea

The most recent Bigg’s killer whale calf, T124A7, breaches the water alongside three adult members of the pod. (Karac Lindsay/Eagle Wing Tours, courtesy of Pacific Whale Watch Association)
Outrigger canoe paddlers glide toward one of two humpback whales observed in the waters off Ogden Point in Victoria on Saturday (Nov. 27). (Photo by Amanda Jean Carl)

‘Experience of a lifetime:’ Career oceanographer’s humpback sighting off Victoria

Water surprisingly calm when whales surfaced near Ogden Point, paddler says

Outrigger canoe paddlers glide toward one of two humpback whales observed in the waters off Ogden Point in Victoria on Saturday (Nov. 27). (Photo by Amanda Jean Carl)
A beluga whale that was seen in Puget Sound this month likely came from north of Alaska. (North Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries West Coast Region/Twitter)

Beluga in Puget Sound likely travelled from waters north of Alaska, DNA analysis finds

Whale’s skin, poop remnants help scientists determine where it likely came from

A beluga whale that was seen in Puget Sound this month likely came from north of Alaska. (North Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries West Coast Region/Twitter)