Gazing out at the beautiful ocean in front our Vancouver Island home is a daily reminder that my wife and I are truly blessed. In spring the waters are darkened with thousands of herring. Eagles swoop down to snatch herring to feed to their hungry nestlings.
Great Blue Herons stand fishing near the shores while seals swim from nearby rocks to feast on nature’s abundance. If we happen to be looking out at just the right time, Orcas (a.k.
a., killer whales) rise from the depths with mouths wide open, devouring the seals. But these are not the “southern resident” whales that many believe are the last Orcas on the planet.
They are, rather, some of the estimated 400 Biggs killer whales that roam B.C.’s coastal waters feeding on the sea lions and seals that are all too plentiful here.
The 400 are part of an estimated population of 50,000 Orcas in the world’s oceans, which makes them, next to humans, the most widely distributed mammal on the planet. That may surprise any Vancouver Islanders who have been led to believe the “southern resident killer whales” are the only 74 Orcas left on the planet. They aren’t.
On the other hand, they the only Orcas in the world that eat only . This has spawned a frenetic “save the salmon for the whales” campaign that has resulted in fishery closures that have devastated B.C.
’s vital recreational sport fishing industry. Guide boats remain tied to wharves, tackle shops go bankrupt and thousands of hotel rooms and lodges remain emp.