Two distinct species of orcas feed and socialize in the waters of Puget Sound: fish-eating endangered southern resident killer whales and transient, or Bigg’s, killer whales, which feed on marine mammals and are more common. They seldom mix.
We saw over 100 on a 1/2 mile stretch of beach. I am wondering if the chiton die-off is related to the stormy conditions or something else?
It would be an obscure sighting of the species. The closest beluga population, which lives at least 1,400 miles away in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, is endangered and covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
In 2009, the numbers dropped down to just 500 pairs of Chinook returning. Yet, as of Tuesday, more than 8,000 Chinook had returned to their Cowichan River spawning grounds. The improvement is the result of years of conservation efforts by Cowichan Tribes, who have worked to restore the river to its course before logging operations changed the river.
If upwelling starts a month earlier than usual, the amount of oxygen, already low, has to last until the fall when storms promote mixing which adds oxygen back into the system. As of late September this year, upwelling is still occurring and low levels of oxygen are still persisting.
Nearly 30 transient orcas were spotted in the Salish Sea around British Columbia and Washington state over the Labor Day weekend, a positive sign for the species, according to local whale watchers and researchers.
Entomologists confirm the report of the world's largest hornet — a worrisome invasive species that originates from East Asia and Japan — by a person in a rural area near the Canadian border.
The most common pod of southern resident killer whales who migrate to the Salish Sea during the summer have not been seen for than 100 days, marking a highly unusual absence from their historic summer hunting ground, according to researchers.
West Coast fish and forests are in greater peril than ever as the B.C. government issues widespread drought warnings after a record-breaking heat wave and an explosion of wildfires across the province.
The number of deaths recorded across British Columbia during the province's recent record-breaking heat wave has climbed to 808, according to coroners.
British Columbia's unprecedented heat wave and drought-like conditions may be what is causing some Vancouver trees to shed their leaves this week, a scientist says.
For the first time in Seattle’s history, temperatures spiked above 100 degrees two days in a row, with residents scrambling to find relief — and flocking to beaches, parks and...
A record-shattering heat wave June 26-28 coincided with some of the year's lowest tides on Puget Sound. The combination was lethal for millions of mussels, clams, oysters, sand dollars, barnacles, sea stars, moon snails, and other tideland creatures exposed to three afternoons of intense heat.
Several BC Ferries sailings between the mainland and Vancouver Island were cancelled Friday due to high winds blasting across the Strait of Georgia.
An outbreak of salmonellosis among pine siskins in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada may be linked to an increased population, migratory irruption, and the use of bird feeders during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Power has been restored to more than 140,000 homes after a nasty overnight windstorm moved across the South Coast, leaving fallen trees and sagging power lines scattered across the region.
Residents in Seclusion Cove were evacuated Monday night due to a landslide. As residents were warned of the threat, Poulsbo Fire said trees were heard cracking.
Some 22,950 sockeye were counted at Ballard’s Hiram Chittenden Locks in 2020, but only about 3,000 made it to the mouth of the Cedar. Another 40 to 50% of those fish typically die on the spawning grounds before they can reproduce.A vortex of climate change, urbanization and predators endangers a beloved species.
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the occurrence of hail during the winter and early spring months. This type of weather is very unusual for this area. While our current experiences with hail have been mild, an increase in frequency and severity is cause for concern.
Minks have been discovered to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A coronavirus outbreak has been declared at a Fraser Valley mink farm after eight people at the site tested positive for COVID-19.
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