Only ten sei whales have been seen in the Canadian Pacific in the past 46 years. But last week, a team of marine biologists spotted up to thirty of them swimming off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The whales are considered endangered in Canada. Up to 300,000 were killed for their meat and oil. Canada stopped hunting them in 1967. Since then, people have seen one or two at a time. This is the first time anyone has seen them in such a big group.
Thomas Doniol-Valcroze was one of the scientists who spotted the whales. He is with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. “The numbers were completely beyond what we have seen before,” he told the CBC.
“This is very rare for us.”
Sei whales are part of the same family as blue whales, fin whales, and humpback whales.
The researchers who saw the whales were able to collect skin samples from two of them. They’ll use the samples to find out more about which population these whales belong to.
The scientists will also analyze recordings from underwater microphones. If they hear sei whale sounds in the recordings, they might be able to tell if these whales were just here for a visit, or if they come back to that spot every year.
