Rare sight, killer whales in Hudson Bay

Churchill Manitoba is well-known as the Polar bear capital of Canada. That’s because a particular segment of the Arctic Polar bear population gathers on the western shores of Hudson Bay waiting for the freeze-up before heading out for the winter to hunt seals on the ice.

Something new caused a stir in the community this week when word came that a pod of killer whales had been spotted.

It’s not totally unheard of, but is a rare occasion to see killer whales in Hudson Bay.

Dwight and Remi Allen run a whale watching operation in Churchill, but tourists usually come to see the Beluga whales.  And that’s what the killer whales were after too.

The Allens say that usually the Beluga presence in the Churchill estuary is sporadic at this time, but say  this week they saw a great many in the waters of the Churchill River estuary, but none further out in the bay. Killer whales prefer deeper water and it was obvious many Beluga were aware of the killer whales and were seeking refuge in the shallower estuary.

David Barber, a Canada Research chair of Arctic systems science at the University of Manitoba, says climate change is helping the killer whales.

Because they are are northern whale and often have to make their way through water where there is a lot of ice on the surface, Belugas have evolved a very small dorsal fin. The orcas on the other hand have very large dorsal fins and have always avoided ice heavy water.

Barber says because of climate change, in the past few years there is more open water in the Arctic areas, and a longer open water season. This is enabling orcas to move further into Arctic waters where they were rarely seen before, and for longer periods, giving them access to new food sources.

This was surely the case this week.

The Allens said there were about 11 killer whales in the pod, and saw at one point the whales dove and soon after there was much blood in the water indicating they had killed and were feeding on a Beluga.