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Wildlife
Reports
Whales and
Wildlife of 2007
by Dave Snow
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Photo Tour |
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During 2007 we enjoyed a wonderful
summer of whale watching and study. All of our guests on all of our
week-long excursions viewed members of the world’s largest humpback
whale gathering together with other marine mammal species. Our
Whale Study
Weeks included humpbacks, minkes, dolphins, fin whales, and
sperm whales while our
Southern
Labrador Adventure featured orcas, a minke whale, hundreds of dolphins, fin
whales, and harbour porpoises. We collected many scientifically
useful photos and company president Dave Snow co-authored the first
draft of Canada’s status report document on Atlantic orcas. Our
tours also worked to document a number of incidents of orca
predation on other whales. Look for our
Atlantic
Whales site to feature photos of the white beaked dolphins and
the minke whale calf that were taken by orcas along northern
Newfoundland and southern Labrador. We are continually enhancing
this on-line catalogue of Newfoundland and Labrador's humpbacks and
orcas so that researchers and whale lovers can keep better track of
the local whales.
One of the mysteries of the summer
was the appearance of substantial groups of belugas along the south
Labrador coast. Single belugas have been occasionally sighted on our
trips for years but this year separate groups of 7, 12 and 14
animals were seen together with some individuals. It is likely these
are high arctic animals that have decided to swim south to
Labrador/northern Newfoundland, perhaps seeking out the endangered
belugas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This phenomenon has never been
recorded before.
The recovery of offshore fish
stocks, especially the keystone fish known as caplin, meant that
some humpbacks stayed offshore among this abundant Grand Banks food
source. The groups of humpbacks we did regularly and reliably see
included many previously photographed humpbacks; and confirmed our
observations that we have seasonally residential (summer) humpbacks.
One individual humpback (HWC#3655) photographed off Witless Bay in
1990 and the Northern Peninsula in 1992 by Dr. Jon Lien of Memorial
University was photographed by whale enthusiast and regular Wildland
Tours guest Arlene Erven off St. Anthony in July 2006 and Witless
Bay in July 2007. When combined with the February 1993 observation
of this individual on the Silver Banks in the Dominican, we have a
good idea of this whale's migratory behaviour. Arlene's July 2005
photo of another humpback first photographed in July 1980 (HWC#3025)
provides another useful insight as scientists, aided by our Wildland
Tours' guests, work to better understand the life history of these
spectacular marine mammals.
Another 2007 highlight for our
Newfoundland and Labrador team saw our Manager Ann Simmons travel to
northern Labrador in preparation for our two
2008 polar
bear expeditions (which are already sold out). Ann saw polar
bears, black bears, seals, harlequin ducks, minke whales, a wolf,
caribou, and a host of other animals. She also brought back an
anecdotal report of a pair of two-meter tusks collected (and sold)
by a local hunter; suggesting that woolly mammoths or mastodons once
called this coast home. Our excitement about this new 2008 polar
bear expedition was heightened by our provincial whale study network
reporting groups of orcas off the north coast for the first time in
recent, recorded history. At least one of these orcas went into a
large fjord in pursuit of seals or arctic char.
Whales were just part of the fun.
Our season included rare birds, leatherback turtles, numerous
icebergs, and many adventures shared with enthusiastic travelers
that came as customers and left as friends. We invite you to check
the stories and photos on our websites (Adventure
Newfoundland;
Atlantic
Whales;
Wildland Tours) and to join us and the whales in Newfoundland
and Labrador in 2008. |
