The likelihood of survival for a humpback whale with a severed tail spotted in the waters off Vancouver Island is low, according to a leading Vancouver Island authority on the gentle giants.
The whale's emaciated condition shows the damage has impacted its ability to survive, according to the Marine Education and Resource Society (MERS), which thinks the animal is a tragic example of the long-term effects of entanglement.
The whale was spotted during a Campbell River Whale Watching tour July 10 and MERS is sharing the "tragic reality" of the its plight because the animal is in distress and needs its space (boaters are asked to stay at least 200 metres away). It the same time, the organization is hoping it can help raise greater understanding of the severity of the threat entanglement creates.
"The rope or netting this humpback would have had around their tail slowly cut into their skin and led to the fluke being severed," A MERS Facebook post says. "This whale is also emaciated because they are not able to move/feed adequately."
The whale involved has not been identified so, for now, it has been nicknamed Catalyst. Identifying the whale could help determine how long it was entangled.
"As is so achingly evident with this whale, it is most often the long-term impacts of entanglement that can kill a whale 鈥� infection, dismemberment and not being able to move or feed as needed," MERS says.
Fifty per cent of humpbacks in B.C. waters have scarring that shows the effects of entanglement. There's no data on how many die from entanglement.
Some observers say it is possible the animal may not have been entangled in fishing gear and instead it may have been struck by boat, which is another hazard whales on the coast are subjected to. DFO marine mammal coordinator Paul Cottrell indicated in media reports that the damage to the whale could have been due to a propeller shearing the tale right off.
DFO, Straitwatch and members of the whale watching community will continue to try and monitor the damaged humpback from a distance but MERS says the prognosis for the animal is poor.
Boaters can help by staying alert for entanglements and observing them from a distance and knowing how important it is to immediately report them while staying with the whales until someone can take over tracking (call, toll free, 1-800-465-4336 or VHF Channel 16 or email the details to DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca).
