This lunge-feeding humpback whale was filmed in Juan Perez Sound in the proposed Gwaii Haa
This lunge-feeding humpback whale was filmed in Juan Perez Sound in the proposed Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia.
It's likely feeding on a soup of krill, Pacific herring and Pacific sardines (aka pilchards). After disappearing for almost 50 years, sardines reappeared in British Columbia's waters in 1992, and have been increasing in numbers ever since. They migrate here from California every summer to feed on plankton, including krill. Scientists think that warming waters is one of the reasons they're coming back to B.C. waters.
The humpbacks have come back too. Since the late 1990s, humpback whales have begun to rebound from the whaling moratorium set in 1967. In 2004, 387 individual humpback whales were confirmed to live in B.C.'s waters.
But as more humpbacks return to our waters, more entangled animals are being reported along our coast. Just recently, a young humpback, entangled in multiple crab trap lines, has been spotted numerous times in the waters around southern Vancouver Island. Find out more: http://wildwhales.org/?p=123
(more)
(less)
Added: 2 weeks ago
Views: 494
It's a latch!
Qila, a beluga, gave birth to her first calf at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday, June 1
It's a latch!
Qila, a beluga, gave birth to her first calf at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, 2008.
This newborn calf latched on and nursed for the first time at 12:06 a.m., June 11, 2008, meeting another of her critical milestones within eight hours of birth.
Beluga calves do not suck. Instead the mother squirts the milk into her calf's mouth. The frilly-edged tongue of a baby beluga helps it to form a seal when nursing.
Every day of this calf's new life contributes to our limited knowledge of beluga birth and calf development, so we're watching Qila and her calf around the clock to monitor bonding and nursing behaviours. The watch will continue for several months and will record all the calf's developmental milestones.
(more)
(less)
Added: 1 month ago
Views: 2,791
It's a girl!
Qila, a beluga, gave birth to her first calf at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday, June 10
It's a girl!
Qila, a beluga, gave birth to her first calf at 4:28 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, 2008.
You're hearing the voice of Dr. Marty Haulena, Aquarium Veterinarian, relaying information of critical first milestones of the successful birth and the first breath of the newborn calf to the animal care.
This newborn beluga is:
1.35 metres long and weighs about 50 kilograms
slate grey -- she will gradually lighten as she matures
wrinkled for the first few weeks
adorable
making history -- she's the first calf in Canada to be born to an aquarium-born beluga.
Qila, a first-time mom, was born at the Aquarium on July 23, 1995.
(more)
(less)
Added: 1 month ago
Views: 2,379
|
Valentine's Day announcement: Beluga pregnancy at the aquarium! Staff at the Vancouver Aqu
Valentine's Day announcement: Beluga pregnancy at the aquarium! Staff at the Vancouver Aquarium are very excited about 12-year-old Qila's pregnancy. She was born at the Vancouver Aquarium to mom Aurora (and father Nanuq, currently on a breeding loan to SeaWorld) on July 23, 1995. Her entry into the world marked the first time that a beluga whale was conceived and born in a Canadian aquarium. A photo of that momentous occasion ran in the December 1995 issue of Life magazine. The gestation period for beluga whales is 14 -- 16 months. Qila's calf is due this summer, in July or August. Ultrasound results and blood tests show that Qila and the calf are in good health.
(more)
(less)
Added: 5 months ago
Views: 30,513
Comb Jelly - Beroe spp.
These beautiful comb jellies are oval-shaped, with eight rows of
Comb Jelly - Beroe spp.
These beautiful comb jellies are oval-shaped, with eight rows of tiny comblike plates that they beat to move themselves through the water. As they swim, the comb rows diffract light to produce a shimmering, rainbow effect. Voracious predators on other jellies, some can expand their stomachs to hold prey nearly half their own size. Jellies are simple creatures with few specialized organs. Most jellies can detect chemical traces in the water that allow them to locate food, and many are equipped with a gravity-sensitive structure, called a statocyst, that gives them a sense of up and down in the water.
(more)
(less)
Added: 2 months ago
Views: 5,040
Frogs Forever? ... only if we leap in to save them. There's a global crisis facing amphibi
Frogs Forever? ... only if we leap in to save them. There's a global crisis facing amphibians -- frogs, toads and salamanders -- they're vanishing before our very eyes.
Bullfrog Ballet
Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) are native to the eastern North America, from Canada as far south as Florida, but they're invading British Columbia, where the Vancouver Aquarium is located. They were introduced here in the early 1900s by people wanting to farm them for their legs.
As you can see, they'll eat just about anything that will fit into their mouth. They can easily tip the delicate balance of nature in places where they are not naturally found.
Ironically this widely introduced species is disappearing in Ontario, Canada -- part of its natural range.
See these frogs in person at the Vancouver Aquarium
http://www.vanaqua.org/
It's a global crisis
We could lose up to one-half of the world's 6,000 known amphibian species in our lifetime, resulting in the single largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs.
We're losing them to habitat destruction, pollution that includes household chemicals and pesticides, climate change, and over-harvesting for food, but the most deadly cause is a disease called the chytrid fungus.
It's a crisis that has sparked the Vancouver Aquarium to take action.
"Frogs Forever?" a new exhibit at the Aquarium trains the spotlight on the plight of the world's frogs, with tips on how we can help save them.
It's part of the global initiative to save frogs launched by Amphibian Ark (a coalition of research and conservation groups that include zoo and aquariums), which has declared 2008 The Year of the Frog.
(more)
(less)
Added: 5 months ago
Views: 51,988
|
Frogs Forever?
http://www.vanaqua.org/frogs/
False Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)
Frogs Forever?
http://www.vanaqua.org/frogs/
False Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti)
The world is facing what may be the single largest mass extinction event since the time of the dinosaurs: as many as half of the world's 6,000 known amphibian species could be wiped out in our lifetimes.
(more)
(less)
Added: 4 months ago
Views: 6,029
And that's a breach! Pacific white-sided dolphins are one of the most acrobatic dolphins i
And that's a breach! Pacific white-sided dolphins are one of the most acrobatic dolphins in the world, and they're often seen breaching in the wild -- seemingly just for fun. This is a slow motion video of Helen, a 17 year old Pacific white-sided dolphin at the Vancouver Aquarium. Helen came to the Aquarium from Japan's Enoshima Aquarium. She was brought to the Aquarium in the fall of 2005, along with another named Hana, to form a social pod with the Aquarium's other two Pacific white-sided dolphins, Spinnaker and Laverne.
(more)
(less)
Added: 3 months ago
Views: 12,815
Since 1980, more than 80% of the world's Steller sea lions have vanished. Tag took part in
Since 1980, more than 80% of the world's Steller sea lions have vanished. Tag took part in ground-breaking studies that are helping researchers understand why. He arrived at the Aquarium when he was two weeks old and charmed many visitors with his playful and charismatic personality. He died of oral cancer on July 1, 2008. Tag was a beloved ambassador for sea lions, and his life is a gift to the people he touched and the scientists he helped.
(more)
(less)
Added: 2 days ago
Views: 152
|
|
See All 19 Videos
|
