When Anna Mihalj decided to go for a run on Valentine香蕉视频直播檚 Day, she wound up being at the right place at the right time to witness something spectacular.

The new-to-the-area resident said she was running along the Cable Bay Trail on the outskirts of Nanaimo about mid-day on Feb. 14. At the same time, a pod of orcas were 香蕉视频直播渞olling on through香蕉视频直播� Dodd Narrows 香蕉视频直播� a narrow, fast-movement passage between Vancouver Island and neighbouring Mudge Island.

香蕉视频直播淚 was just like, 香蕉视频直播業 can香蕉视频直播檛 believe this,香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈�� she said of the encounter. 香蕉视频直播淚 was really lucky.香蕉视频直播�

Mihalj said she had been through the passage on a sailboat before during slack water, but wanted to see what the area looked like at high flow, so she set out for a run after checking the tide tables.

香蕉视频直播淎nd I got a bonus too,香蕉视频直播� she added.

While her first marine mammal encounter may have only lasted a few minutes, the runner said one of the whales was within two metres of her at one point.

香蕉视频直播淭he video didn香蕉视频直播檛 do justice to how close they were at first. They were right there because the water goes so deep right away,香蕉视频直播� she said.

In an e-mail, the co-founder and president of the Orca Behavior Institute, Monika Wieland, referred to the sighting as a special and unusual occurrence.

Based on Mihalj香蕉视频直播檚 video, Wieland said they were able to determine the whales passing through were members of J-pod by identifying their unique markings, and added that while there are records of southern resident orcas transiting through Dodd, it香蕉视频直播檚 not a common occurrence. Bigg香蕉视频直播檚 killer whales, she said, also known as transients, tend to travel through the passage more regularly.

香蕉视频直播淭hey were likely heading through on their way to the Strait of Georgia, where they typically spend a lot of time foraging for food this time of year,香蕉视频直播� Wieland said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey香蕉视频直播檙e lunging higher out of the water than usual to help fight the strong currents 香蕉视频直播� While they don香蕉视频直播檛 often swim in currents this strong, they香蕉视频直播檙e well-adapted to manoeuvre through them, and do occasionally encounter strong currents in other narrow passages throughout their habitat.香蕉视频直播�

Wieland also noted that orcas were also spotted in March 2022 going through Dodd Narrows, and suggested this could indicate a new preferred travel route this time of year.

Mihalj originally posted the video to Facebook香蕉视频直播檚 Nanoose Whale Watch page for other people to enjoy, but noticed that it has also been shared by other wildlife institutes and environmental groups.

香蕉视频直播淲hich makes it even more important,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey香蕉视频直播檙e trying to protect [the area] right now too, because it香蕉视频直播檚 not fully public land. So there香蕉视频直播檚 been some response to the video in that regard, which I had no idea about.香蕉视频直播�

An to preserve and expand the Cable Bay Trail area exists on on www.change.org.

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mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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