A dead Bryde’s whale recently washed ashore on North Vancouver Island.
On May 14, Marine Education and Research Society got a message from local resident Owen Johnson of the whale being washed ashore in Port McNeill Bay around 1:30 p.m., with society members going to the scene as quickly as possible.
Bryde’s whales are whales that feed on plankton and small schooling fish and are rarely seen in waters north of 35°latitude, roughly the same latitude as Los Angeles, California.
Whale researcher and Society Director of Education and Communications Jackie Hildering says they first thought it was a Minke whale due to initial photos.
“That’s a species that belongs in these waters, but since we were down there and secured the whale, we then had the realization it wasn’t a Minke whale,” said Hildering.
“The bodies are very similar. Bryde whales are up to 16 and a half meters, this one was around 7, about the size of a Minke whale. What was missing was Minke whales have a white band on their flippers, but this whale did not. We realized it was a Bryde because of three lines on its head.”
After confirming it was a young Bryde’s whale, Hildering says they contacted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and ‘Namgis First Nation about this incident.
The Nation sent two guardians to monitor the site on May 15, where they educated onlookers and ensured public and pet safety with respect for the whale.
This was followed by a blessing ceremony to honour the whale, with a necropsy performed the next day to figure out what caused the death.
Hildering says the idea that the whale went right in front of the society’s office undetected is the rarest of the rare.
“Granted, it is a little whale but there is a possibility that the whale was stranded, and would of been initially alive that day,” said Hildering.
“There’s also the possibility that because of warming waters, the whale was disoriented because of domoic acid poisoning, which is naturally-occurring toxins. In California, there are a couple of whales found dead where domoic poisoning has been indicated.”
This death comes after two other whales were found dead in BC this month, with Hildering adding they don’t know that those deaths are connected.
The cause of death hasn’t been found as of now.
The nation has given the whale’s remains to the Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove.
