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'Wolves of the sea' Jeanne Gagnon Northern News Services Published Monday, February 6, 2012
Inuit observations of killer whales gathered from interviews of 105 hunters in 11 Nunavut communities in the Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk regions between 2007 and 2010 were compiled in research published on Jan. 30 in the online journal Aquatic Biosystems. Inuit hunters told researchers killer whales eat seals - ringed, harp, bearded and hooded - as well as narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales, but fish is not on the menu, the report states. Inuit traditional knowledge provided scientists insight into killer whale behaviour, something researchers would have needed a lot more time figuring out for themselves, said Steve Ferguson, a marine biologist with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. "We weren't sure whether killer whales ate fish and it seemed fairly clear the fish are not a food while they are in the Arctic waters," he said. The findings illustrate different regions of Nunavut see different kinds of killer whales, with some more adept at killing narwhals while others hunt bowhead whales instead, he added. Some Inuit hunters interviewed referred to killer whales as "wolves of the sea," because the mammals hunt in packs. Some also noted the killer whales don't always eat the prey they kill, or leave much to waste. Inuit hunters observed the orcas' prey using sea ice as refuge, something the report's authors said was only previously suggested in scientific literature. Killer whales in Davis Strait and Baffin Bay have been reported in whaling logbooks of the 1800s but have only recently been sighted in the Hudson Bay, perhaps because of declining sea ice during the summer, the report states. In the report, Inuit hunters expressed concern that, as more sea ice disappears, they may have to compete with more orcas after the same game as them. Ferguson said the Inuit traditional knowledge will help researchers determine where and on which aspect to focus future research. "I think we can start to go a little further and try to understand predation by killer whales in the Arctic and its kind of effects," he said. "Inuit are very good naturalists, and when they are out there, they observe things and they keep track of things and they organize it well in their minds as to how nature works." Mikidjuk Akavak, chairman of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, said Inuit have long lived alongside killer whales and have extensive knowledge acquired either through first-hand observations or through the generations. "There are a lot of knowledgeable people in the communities throughout Nunavut on species, such as killer whales," he said. "It will certainly be interesting to see how Inuit and/or scientists vice-versa will work together in the future."
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