STANLEY PARK NOTEBOOK

/

WHEN IS A WHALE NOT A WHALE?
Whale Visitors to Stanley Park  

by Jacaui Birchall
(click images to enlarge)

GREY WALES

Little Patch, a lone grey whale, has been delighting Stanley Park visitors since April 9. He should be headed for the grey whale summer waters off Alaska at about this time.

Frank Lin, the Nature House environmental educator for Stanley Park Ecology, is a font of information. He can be found in the Nature House on the south shore of Lost Lagoon most weekends, where he is full of information on all things nature in Stanley Park.

Grey whale little patch paying a visit to stanley park. (frank lin photos)

I am indebted to Frank for much of the information in this article. Starting in July, the Nature House is open Tuesdays through Sundays. The telephone number is 604.257.8544.

Little Patch was first identified thirty-five years ago, but he is obviously older than that. His true age has not been confirmed. He was named for the distinctive patch on the side of his body. This is his first known visit to Vancouver, as he has previously been observed in Washington State waters.

Little Patch is what is known as a Sounder, a grey whale that leaves the typical migration route to feed in Washington’s Puget Sound. There are about twelve Sounders today. 

Grey whales are grubbers, which means they filter feed with the help of the baleen plates in their mouths. They swim to the ocean floor, roll onto their sides and suck up the sediment and filter it. Frank advises that the Little Patch is feeding on mysids, opossum shrimp (also known as ghost shrimp), fish larva, plankton and krill.

Grey whales like to eat in shallow waters, and Little Patch can be seen feeding in the Capilano River Watershed. Little Patch feeds between the Capilano River and Stanley Park, where there is a lot of ship activity. Because of the way grey whales feed, they are susceptible to being hit by boats while focused on feeding.

Grey whales spend the winter off the coast of Mexico and summer in Arctic waters. They can grow to 15 metres and weigh 35 tonnes. They live for 50 to 70 years. Each spring, about 20,000 grey whales pass through B.C. waters, heading north.

Gestation lasts just over a year, and the nursing period is about 6 to 8 months. The calving takes place in the warm Mexican waters.

ORCAS ARE DOLPHINS, NOT WHALES

Orcas, also known as killer whales or wolves of the sea, are regularly spotted off Stanley Park.

Orcas are, in fact, not whales, but the largest members of the dolphin family. They can grow to 10 metres in length, weigh up to 10,000 kilograms, and reach 80 years old. Unlike grey whales, orcas are very fast swimmers, reaching 54 kilometres an hour, with the ability to cover 160 kilometres a day.

did you know that orcas, such as this one seen in english bay, are dolphins, not whales?

Orcas are matriarchal, highly intelligent, and coordinate their hunting tactics. 

Long ago, fishers named them killer whales after watching them kill various whale species.

The orcas around Stanley Park eat fish, harbour seals, harbour porpoises, Pacific white-sided dolphins, sea lions, octopus, and squid. They have been observed feeding on the sea lions in Coal Harbour.

Orcas are either resident or transient, the latter also known as Bigg’s. Resident orcas stay in a specific area, while transient orcas move around. The orcas we observe from Stanley Park are transient.

Resident orcas rely on a diet of fish. There are Northern Resident Orcas and Southern Resident Orcas. The Northern Resident Orcas are those found in waters north of Vancouver Island and up to Southern Alaska. Southern Resident Orcas are found further south in the waters of B.C., Washington and Oregon. Because fish stocks are declining, the resident orcas are also declining. The Southern Resident Orca population is considered endangered, with only 73 members left as of last summer. Meanwhile, transient orcas are experiencing an increased food supply.

Frank advises that the transient orca’s favourite route is under the Lions Gate Bridge, the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge and up Indian Arm. He also reports an increase in the sightings of white-sided dolphins around Stanley Park.

For the latest in local dolphin and whale sightings, join the Facebook page “Howe Sound Sea to Sky Wildlife Sightings”. There are regular posts in real time of sightings around the park.

So far this year, three whales have been found dead on B.C. shores: two grey whales and a Bryde’s whale. The latter is a warm water whale and not usually found in B.C. waters. Whales are susceptible to vessel strikes, ocean noise, and whaling. They continue to need protection.

To learn more about dolphins and whales in B.C. waters, see Related Links at the end of this column.

a european tufted duck spotted in lost lagoon.

AN EXOTIC DUCK VISITOR

Frank Lin was also excited to share about a sighting of a Eurasian Tufted Duck that visited Lost Lagoon. They are usually found in Asia and Europe. They are easily confused with scaups, and the Eurasian Tufted Duck Frank observed was swimming with the Lesser Scaups.

The male Eurasian Tufted Duck is identifiable by its ponytail. Visitors from the UK advised Frank that the Eurasian Tufted Duck has been observed in London’s Hyde Park.

A NEW NAME

The Stanley Park Ecology Society has a new name and is now known as Stanley Park Ecology: Education, Conservation and Research Rooted in Stanley Park.

  RELATED LINKS