Whale Sightings

In collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Vancouver Aquarium’s BC Cetacean Sightings Network collects data on cetaceans and sea turtles in British Columbia. Public sightings are reported by residents, boaters and professionals and are used to inform research, conservation and recovery actions. Report your sighting to 1 866 I SAW ONE, www.wildwhales.org or sightings@vanaqua.org

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Whale Sightings

A Mother’s Love: Killer Whale Culture

Marine Mammal Research

May 8, 2020

Aquablog, Research Initiative - Biology, Ecology, and Health of Marine Mammals, Whale Sightings

Motherhood is never easy, no matter which species you belong to. From broadcasting millions of eggs to nurturing a single calf to independence, successfully raising the next generation is one of life’s greates...

Quiet Oceans: Has the COVID-19 crisis reduced noise in whale habitats?

Ocean Wise

April 11, 2020

Arctic Connections, Inuit, Ocean Wise, Research - Arctic, Research Initiative - Arctic Lab, Research Initiative - Biology, Ecology, and Health of Marine Mammals, Research Site - CORI, Whale Sightings

By Dr. Valeria VergaraOcean Wise Marine Mammal Conservation Research Program Photo credit: Valeria Vergara In September 2001, during the aftermath of 9/11, much of the coastal ocean around North Ameri...

A Whale of a Season – Part 1

Marine Mammal Research

July 25, 2019

Aquablog, Research Initiative - Biology, Ecology, and Health of Marine Mammals, Research Site - CORI, Whale Sightings

Returning from the pilot season of its drone-based killer whale study along the central coast of British Columbia, Ocean Wise’s Marine Mammal Research team marked the sixth year of its photogrammetry project, ...

Bigg’s Killer Whales Hunting Seals in Vancouver Harbour

Ocean Wise

April 25, 2019

Whale Sightings

Vancouver, B.C. – For the second time in as many weeks, a group of Bigg’s, or transient killer whales, swam into the Vancouver Harbour yesterday to hunt seals. Bigg’s killer whales, unlike resident killer whale...

Springer’s Success Story

Ocean Wise

February 19, 2019

Aquablog, Marine Mammal Rescue, Ocean Wise, Vancouver Aquarium, Whale Sightings

In 2002, an orphaned killer whale, Springer (A73), brought together scientists, government officials and concerned citizens in the first orca recovery effort of its kind. Seventeen years after Springer’s rescue...

A Mother’s Love

Ocean Wise

May 10, 2018

Aquablog, Marine Mammal Rescue, Ocean Wise, Whale Sightings

Much like humans, mothers play an important role in killer whale culture. Killer whales are highly social, group-living animals whose social structure revolves around females. For some members of the animal kin...

Drawing a Humpback Whale, All 14 Metres

Ocean Wise

December 1, 2017

Aquablog, Education, Ocean Wise, Vancouver Aquarium, Whale Sightings

Inside a half-renovated garage in Squamish, BC, a grade-six student poured the last light of every school day into one huge project: a life-sized drawing of a humpback whale. The days were growing shorter, the ...

Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program Marks 25th Anniversary

Ocean Wise

October 26, 2017

Ocean Wise, Research Site - CORI, Whale Sightings

Since 1992, the Wild Killer Whale Adoption Program has supported ground-breaking research by the Marine Mammal Research Program at the Coastal Ocean Research Institute, an Ocean Wise initiative. In the past, th...