Jackie Hildering – “Lessons learned from killer whales”

A Mother Hunting T140 in pursuit of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin. Mammal-eating Killer Whales diverged from other populations ~700,000 years ago. ©Jackie Hildering; themarinedetective.ca — “A Mother Hunting” – T140 in pursuit of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin.
*– Jackie Hildering*

Jackie Hildering – “Lessons learned from killer whales”
by Andrew Bryant, 2 Nov 2018.

Jackie Hildering (aka “the Marine Detective“) of the Marine Education and Research Society packed the Senior’s Centre with her dynamic talk about orcas, and how they’ve changed us.

With a mixture of history, science and irony, Jackie delivered a powerful talk indeed.

I was astounded to learn, for example, that the U.S. Navy sent pilots out to attack orcas with depth charges and gunfire in 1955, austensibly to aid the local Icelandic fishermen. Nor was I aware that both “transient” and “resident” descriptors are misnomers; the terms “inshore mammal-eating” and “inshore chinookaholics” more accurately reflect what these populations actually eat and how they behave. The “offshore” orcas with their ground-down teeth are a different matter – they eat sharks.

Much of Jackie’s talk was disheartening. Orcas are in big trouble, and as with so many other ecological problems, it’s not just one thing. Persistent chemicals, noise pollution, declining food resources, tourism, and other factors. In short, Orcinus orca is suffering a “perfect storm” of issues. So while there’s some good news – human attitudes have changed swiftly and dramatically over the course of only a few decades – the question remains:

Have they changed enough?

Susan MacKay – “Whales”

Breaching humpback. It’s hard to believe that such large, impressive creatures as whales depend on tiny ones…
– victoriawhalewatching.com

…such as the lovely northern krill Meganyctipanes norvegica…
– Wikipedia Commons

LOTS of krill…
– Adventure Associates

Everything eats krill. Groupers, salmon, jellyfish, birds…name it. And anything that eats any of those depends on krill
– earthbuzz.com

Like the iconic orca
– greatpacificadventures.com

A few species of whales are relatively common in British Columbia
– U. Gorter

A few others are rarely seen, like this Fin whale
– J. Towers

Cumulatively, quite of few of the world’s whale species have been seen here
– U. Gorter

Which is why every sighting report is valuable
– bcwhalewatchingtours.com

By mapping observations, we can learn a lot about whale behavior
– Whales and Dolphins BC

Out latest undertaking is a “heat map”, which shows, for the first time, the “hot spots” for whales in our local waters!
– Whales and Dolphins BC

Cumulatively we will begin to answer many questions…like “why do breaching humpbacks always seem to land on their head?
– sidneywhalewatching.com

So keep your eyes pealed and your camera handy!
– grizzlybearwatching.com

Susan MacKay – “Whales”
by Andrew Bryant, 22 Oct 2015.

Susan Mackay is a long-time club member, founder of Whales and Dolphins BC and President of the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs). She’s also a member of the Marine Mammal Response Network, a group that responds to reports of injured, distressed or dead marine mammals.

Susan spoke to us about the various species of whales that frequent our local waters, and included some fascinating videos and hydrophone recordings. She brought things clearly into focus by describing the incredible krill-based food chain, the basis of much of our marine ecosystem. She also emphasized the value in reporting whale observations, which allow both researchers and the public to better understand whales and their hunting behaviors.

As always, Susan spoke with an in-depth knowledge that only comes from spending many, many hours on the water with these fantastic leviathons!

Daniel Francis – “Orcas”

Orca breaching
– T. Gallager

Daniel Francis – “Orcas”
by Andrew Bryant, 26 February 2009

Daniel Francis, together with co-author and long-time Vancouver Aquarium staff member Gil Hewlett, wrote Operation Orca: Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales. This book was awarded “Best Nature Non-Fiction Award” by Forward Magazine, and has been excerpted in The Tyee, which you can find here.

Daniel described how and why he came to write this book, and his passion for telling their story. It is remarkable that these graceful and majestic creatures have gone from being perceived as fearsome, man-eating monsters that should be systematically killed – to a powerful symbol of the wild BC coast, indeed a true poster child for the need to protect our marine environment.