Welcome to the Orcas of the Canadian Arctic website!
2011 was a busy year for killer whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic - including reports as far west as Cambridge Bay. This is also the first year that we got reports from Hudson Bay and the high Arctic at the same time - indicating that at least two groups are entering the Arctic during the summer. Our photo identification work will help determine if the same animals move between these two areas.
We have updated the sightings page to include 2011 observations.
The aim of this website and newsletter is to encourage communication between researchers and northern communities. We hope that by regularly sharing our findings with northerners, the relationship between our two groups can be strengthened and grow.
In recent years, northerners have seen killer whales more often and farther into the Canadian Arctic. To determine more about what is causing this increase, and to find out more about killer whales, we started collecting information in 2005. This information was a combination of sighting reports, photographs, and Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
Our first aim is to find out some basic things: the number of killer whales visiting the Arctic, where they are traveling, and what they are hunting. This information will help determine the impact of increased killer whale numbers on the animals that they hunt. Many of these animals, such as narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales, have not had to worry about killer whales as much in the pasts.
Articles in our newsletter, the Aarluk News, will include results of our research. The newsletter also provides opportunities for northerners to help with ongoing projects and suggest areas needing investigation.
Thank you for visiting!