Straight to Orca Live’s audio clip
For me it’s been a very intense and bizarre time. The night the category 5 hurricane Dean was bearing down on my home and loved ones in the Yucatan of Mexico, I watched back to back headline news as a diesel spill occurred throughout the Robson Bight up here in Johnston Strait, and the northern resident killer whales and marine life were exposed to it (the entire duration which in the end lasted for days as the animals stayed situated on scene inside the diesel). The night I arrived to Malcolm Island, I watched an ironic/epic back to back news cast of my (orca rubbing beach) researcher friend Troy Bright who is on this blog (a photo CBC referenced of him from my website orcagirl.com) speaking about the disaster then right behind it, breaking news and visuals of a monster hurricane just making landfall in my beloved Yucatan home. It was the 11pm news. My friends poured me a drink and we shut down the tv – it was just too much to deal with at one time. I had come to the north to shut my stress down for a time and enjoy the serene northern resident orca viewing. I tried removing myself from the inundated media coverage of the monster hurricane and I thought I had succeeded but not really, it only got worse at that point. It was a night to remember. The most of the drama seems to have blown over now and I am feeling a bit better.
I am in the general area of this diesel spill. I have received some emails from the south asking if I have seen or documented the situation. I was over at Malcolm Island (north of the diesel spill) during the spill duration and as the below post illustrates, saw the A36′s (3 brothers) pass us as the majority was in the Robson Bight. Orca-Live is (virtually through hydrophones and videographer / biologist and on this blog Paul Tixier) on scene there documenting as well as DFO, the Wardens, Straitwatch and the whale watchers.
Today I am in Alert Bay and am ironically land locked but is allowing me to do some catching up. Over the next two days however will be on a boat and will document the northern resident killer whales. We were at Bere Point waiting for some of the animals to rub however we once again (5 years in a row) just missed that as one of the pods of 12 animals is there on scene right now rubbing. I knew it, I knew we should have stayed one more night but it was debated with one other and I lost and as Troy put it “your instincts are dead on”… next time I will listen to myself even if it means remaining stranded and alone… AHH
Darren is heading out on the Tuan sailboat with Jared Towers (on this blog) today, as there is only 1 standby seat available, I will remain on land today while he takes my little canon elf and will shoot what he can with that, however I believe they are going to see a pod of transient (meat eating killer whales). I will catch up with Bere Point later today to see what was sighted… My instincts were right, one more night would have covered this. But none the less I am here in Alert Bay and will make the best of it. Tomorrow I will be out with Seasmoke Whale Watching and Saturday with the Mackays Whale Watching (Naiad). In this situation, whale watching from a boat is the best way to observe and document the killer whales. Finally seeing my big black and white friends will also give me some relief and joy from such a stressful time.
