INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails
Whale watching is a popular activity but are whale watchers harming whales with their activities?
One British Columbia whale watching company is tackling this difficult issue with acoustic monitoring in my latest story for Roadstories.ca You can read more here
Can a dead whale save a living one? The newly expanded Whale Interpretive Centre (WIC) in British Columbia’s Telegraph Cove thinks it’s possible by displaying whale skeletons.What happens to dead whales?Click To Tweet
As I paddled my kayak across Johnstone Strait towards Telegraph Cove, the wash of a passing boat gently rocked me from side to side. Sunshine danced across the inky blue waters as a flock of common murres bobbed nearby. Suddenly, the water parted in front of me and a glossy grey back emerged from the depths, a large blow splitting the cries of gulls and shooting up a giant mist cloud. Read more
I associate whale watching with choppy waves, ocean spray on my camera, and seasick compatriots. But on the north shore of Canada’s Saint Lawrence River near Tadoussac, Quebec, there is a deep channel near land where you can see even the biggest of whales without donning a lifejacket.
“It is the best place in the world to see whales from shore,” extols Patrice Corbeil, GREMM Executive Director (Group for Research and Education for Marine Mammals), adding with a smile that there are secret places where people bring a bottle of wine to sip while watching whales swim by.
Intrigued by this this relaxed approach to adventure I decide to try whale watching from shore.
I head north to Parks Canada Cap-de-Bon-Désir Interpretation and Observation Centre. A small building holds a room-size model of the different size whales found in the area. Two beluga whales look like salt-and-pepper shakers next to a torpedo-sized blue whale. “I saw a blue whale from shore, just north of here!” exclaims Valerie Busque, Visitor Services Team Leader proving great whale experiences can be had without a boat.
The reason so many whales come close to Tadoussac – one of the first settlements on Québec’s north shore – is the deep Laurentien channel near land and a steep rock wall that whales use to corral krill. Baleen whales like humpbacks, minkes, and blues love krill and will launch themselves through the krill they’ve gathered, mouths open to swallow as many as possible, and delighting people lucky enough to see lunges that break the surface.
Hoping to see whales feeding I wander the short wooded path to the St. Lawrence, the smell of fir and salty air tickling my nostrils. There’s a cold breeze lifting off the water as I scramble onto rock slabs overlooking the St. Lawrence. I can’t tell by looking at the inky-blue surface but this water can provide the 40 million krill a blue whale can eat in a single day!
The sun pops out, warming the rocks. I don’t see anyone sipping wine but Brant geese nibble eelgrass at the water’s edge. “There’s a whale!” yells another watcher and I swivel to see nothing but water where a whale once was.
Within moments there’s a staccato burst of air as a whale breaks the surface with its blow; the glossy back of a minke twinkling in the sun before it slips back to the watery buffet. I watch as the whale reappears several times on a northward track.
Starting to get the rhythm of whale spotting from shore I head to a second spot favored by whale lovers, the Pointe de L’Islet trail near Tadoussac’s marina. I stroll through a warbler-filled forest to a viewpoint near the mouth of Saguenay Fjord where a friend told me she had seen a whole group of belugas. Today I see only geese.
Realizing I’ve skipped the wine in my terra firma whale watching adventure I head to a small restaurant – La Galouine – near the village center. Owners Paryse Deschenes and Martin Brisson offer local cuisine and white wine from Quebec’s eastern townships.
I sip my drink and realize this community has pierced my belief one must suffer to see whales. Adventure has never been so civilized.
This article first appeared in the Red Deer Advocate June 9, 2017
TWEETABLES
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Have you ever wanted to see a wild grizzly bear? How about a dozen of them? You can see a lot of bears in the Great Bear Rainforest because this part of British Columbia’s coast is great bear habitat and people are working hard to make sure it stays bear-friendly.
In this story I wrote for BC Ferries’ OnBoard Magazine I interviewed several scientists on what they were doing to learn more about the Bears, whales and sea-wolves of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Did you know grizzly bears are swimming to islands they haven't visited before?Click To TweetDid you know that grizzly bears are moving to islands? First observed by First Nations guides, grizzly bears are swimming to islands where they haven’t lived before. Western scientists confirmed what Kitasoo/Xai’xais Nation already suspected and now habitat protection has been expanded to reflect the larger range.
Jackie Hildering, humpback researcher, Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) also shared her organization’s experience with whales. MERS’s observations on humpbacks and the very different behaviors they display led to new recommendations for boaters more used to orca encounters. Read more here.
Scientist and photographer Ian MacAllister is monitoring noise levels under water as so many creatures depend upon hearing to communicate and hunt. With noise levels above and below water increasing, this information is critical for policy-makers.
Why scientists @PacificWild are trying to keep things quietClick To TweetIf you would like to learn more about where the wild things are (and how you can get there) read the full story here.
Like me, you may be dazzled by the photos by Ian MacAllister accompanying. His images peek into a world unseen by many of us and remind me of another great image maker – Jacque Costeau. I suspect that the work of these MacAllister and the other scientists I interviewed will also have long-lasting effects!
A day on the water with Jim Borrowman is like sitting in the forest with Jane Goodall. Jim has been watching whales for over three decades – he launched whale watching on Canada’s west coast – and seems to sense where whales will show up or what they will do next. Standing next to Borrowman on the bridge, I slap on a wool headband as the wind blows over Johnstone Strait chilling my ears.
Even in August the nutrient-rich waters off North Vancouver Island are cool. We chugged out of Telegraph Cove hours earlier with heavy fog making it impossible to see whales on the horizon. Borrowman stops every few minutes, turning off the engines while we strain to hear the distinctive blow of a whale. Read more
Killer whales appear from the mist in Blackstone Strait
All pictures by Carol Patterson
Stubbs Island Whale Watching was the first whale watching company on Canada’s west coast.
You don’t have to take a big boat to see whales in Johnstone Strait.
Kayakers get a thrill as orcas pass near them.
Telegraph Cove offers a unique west coast experience. Visitors can dine, shop and sleep in restored buildings perched over the cold waters of the Inside Passage. Look for bears foraging under the boardwalk in early morning or spot large jellyfish in the clear waters near the boat dock.
To book a room in one of the buildings off the boardwalk contact Telegraph Cove Resort
Telegraph Cove is one of the few remaining west coast boardwalk communities.
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Jim Borrowman does a safety briefing before heading to sea.
Telegraph Cove is a three-hour drive north of Comox airport on Vancouver Island. Keep your eyes peeled along the way for wildlife including cougars (some of the highest densities of cougar in the world are found here).
Killer whales live in matrilines – family groups lead by a mother or grandmother. Males and females stay with their mothers their whole life (breeding happens when groups of matrilines come together each year).
Guides can identify many whales by their saddle patch (the white marking at the base of the dorsal fin) but on your first whale watching trip, it can be hard to understand all the relationships.
Did you know male orcas are mother's boys?Click To TweetTake time to visit the Whale Interpretative Centre and check out the ‘family tree’ for the whales you might see on the water. The visual picture makes it easier to see who’s related to who.
