Orca Dreams

18/10/2021

15/10/2021

Another season over... and feeling a little nostalgic ... we would love to see any photos you have with us from over the years, please post and share with us here. Thanks so much.

01/10/2021

This looks fantastic...

Excited to announce Generations of Sound with Helena Symonds: A film by Megan Hockin-Bennett is in the official selection: short documentary category at the following Festivals:

Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Downstream Environmental Film Festival, Friday Harbour Film Festival, Good Natured Conservation Optimism Film Festival, Love Nature and the Women X Film Festival!

A testiment to the continued hard work and dedication of Orcalab to the greater understanding of the Northern Residents.

You can also watch it here: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/502441711

06/08/2021

Great time of year to be up here in the Broughton's... and with this amazing company.

Spaces still available on our Aug 19-25 Broughton Archipelago Kayak Tour! (6-Nights, start & finish in Port McNeil)

About the Region:
Nestled between Northern Vancouver Island and the southern quadrant of the Great Bear Rainforest, enjoy the geographically unique group of protected islands and islets called the Broughton Archipelago. Pacific currents funnel through the narrow tidal passages of this region, creating an astoundingly rich habitat for marine mammals, fish, birds and intertidal life. British Columbia's Northern Resident orca population return here every summer to feed on wild salmon, as well as migrating humpback whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Dall's porpoises.

This kayak tour provides the ideal combination of stunning coastal wilderness paddling and spectacular wildlife viewing. With the Columbia III's onboard accommodation, we can easily travel to the untouched corners of the Broughton Archipelago (usually inaccessible by expedition kayakers) and position ourselves in "the right place at the right time" for the most unforgettable wildlife encounters.

Please email us for any serious inquiries - [email protected]

Let’s go on an adventure!!

📷 - .schellenberg

08/06/2021

Its almost this time of year again!

24/05/2021

New baby!

OrcaLab has done it again! They've documented the first mother and calf known to our study area for 2021 and have done so from land. Not only do the photos shared with us by OrcaLab allow us to identify Jigger, but the behaviour of the 2nd Humpback Whale and proximity to Jigger let us know that indeed this was a new calf. The photos provide ID photos for both sides of the calf. [Update to the original post: The tail-lobbing whale is Jigger, not the calf, whereby we do not have fluke ID photo nor can we determine gender - yet 😊 ]. Photos and report by Megan Hockin-Bennett 💙

We hope that by sharing this knowledge of a new calf, there there will be even more vigilance from boaters for the presence of whales and knowing how to avoid collision. Please see www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org.

Our first sighting of Jigger was in 2007 and she has returned to the area every year since. She was already at least a juvenile in 2007. Despite all the work to collaborate with other researchers, to date, there are no known sightings from before 2007.

This is Jigger's third known calf. We documented her 2011 calf "Quartz" back in the area on Thursday. There have been no certain sightings of her 2016 calf "Google" since 2016.

Calves stay with their mothers for only a year. May this new calf migrate back to northeastern Vancouver Island where s/he will learn to feed, just like Jigger and Quartz do. It is not known where Jigger migrates to (Hawaii or Mexico are the most likely).

Once we have even better ID photos, OrcaLab will suggest nicknames for the new calf.

Can't say it enough, it takes a very big, caring community to study giants.

Photos: Megan Hockin-Bennett, OrcaLab, taken from land with telephoto lens. Bottom two photos have been cropped.

17/04/2021

So many Biggs orca sightings this week down in the south Vancouver Island area of Nanoose Bay.

Here's another local project in BC about Orcas for your enjoyment;

UBC scientists attached cameras to drones, and the whales themselves. Here’s the result.