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IKAAHUK/SACHS HARBOUR
Sachs Harbour residents saw three killer whales in the waters outside the community last week.

Killer whales swim in the Admiralty Inlet in August 2009. Researchers say Inuit traditional knowledge has given them a better insight into the hunting techniques and diet of killer whales. - photo courtesy of Gretchen Freund

Ryan Lucas said he and his wife were in a boat bringing supplies to Lucas’ brother, who was camping in an area outside the community, the week of July 20. When they were about 20 kilometres away from Sachs Harbour on their return trip, they noticed three creatures in the water about 180 metres from shore, Lucas said.

“We watched them for a little while,” he said. “I think they were chasing bearded seal, an ugyuk. It was heading in towards the land … They looked like they were feeding.”

Lucas said he has lived in the area his entire life and has never before seen killer whales near the community.

“That’s the first time ever we have seen them,” he said. “We watched them for about a half hour, then high-tailed it back. We never did see those kind before.”

There have been 31 reported killer whale sightings in the Beaufort Sea from the 1940s until the 2000s, according to a research report published last year by scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, environmental monitoring agency Byers Environmental Studies and Higdon Wildlife Consulting.

“Killer whales are rare in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, with only one to five reported sightings per decade since the 1940s,” the report stated.

Jeff Higdon, founder of Higdon Wildlife Consulting and the report’s lead author, said sightings are infrequent, but whales travelling from Alaska sometimes make their way into the Canadian Beaufort Sea.

“They’re not unheard of in the area, but they’re certainly not common,” he said.

While the whales are often seen near Barrow, Alaska, and are also becoming more prevalent in the Eastern Arctic, Higdon said sightings don’t seem to be increasing in the Beaufort Sea.

Higdon said Lucas’ report of the whales chasing a bearded seal means the whales were probably hunting in the area.

“There are records of them killing and eating bearded seals, so that’s not surprising,” he said. “They’re likely going there to look for food.”

Some killer whales hunt and eat other mammals, such as beluga whales, seals and even bowhead whales, Higdon said.

The area near Sachs Harbour has a large beluga whale population and Lucas said bowhead whales are also frequent visitors to the area.

“Bowheads are common, we see those just about every year,” he said, adding there have been many sightings this year.

Higdon said when killer whales are in an area, seals will head for land in an effort to get out of the water. Narwhal, beluga and bowhead aim for the shallows.

“It’s a technique to avoid predation. People know when killer whales are around.”

Higdon said while he isn’t surprised to learn killer whales are in the area, he is surprised at the timing.

“This, to me, is early,” he said. “Sightings in August are more the norm.”

Higdon said on July 8, residents in Ulukhaktok reported seeing up to six killer whales outside the community.

He said while it’s difficult to confirm, it is likely they are part of the same group sighted near Sachs Harbour.

Higdon said there have been no reports from Paulatuk or Tuktoyaktuk, but that doesn’t mean the whales didn’t pass by the communities without being seen by humans.

Reporting killer whale sightings is vital to learning about killer whales in the Beaufort Sea, Higdon added.

“It’s the best source of information we have so far,” he said. “The more sighting reports we can get, the better from a research and monitoring perspective.”

Higdon said anyone who sees killer whales should report the sighting to their local Environment and Natural Resources office or conservation officers. They should also try to take photographs, which will be used to identify and track whales.

After he came back to Sachs Harbour, Lucas said he shared the story with a staff member from the community’s Environment and Natural Resources office.

Lucas said he was glad he had the chance to see the whales first-hand, though he does have one regret.

“It was pretty neat,” he said. “If I had a camera I would have been snapping pictures.”

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