When Anna Mihalj decided to go for a run on Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day, she wound up being at the right place at the right time to witness something spectacular.

The new-to-the-area resident said she was running along the Cable Bay Trail on the outskirts of Nanaimo about mid-day on Feb. 14. At the same time, a pod of orcas were 91裸聊视频渞olling on through91裸聊视频� Dodd Narrows 91裸聊视频� a narrow, fast-movement passage between Vancouver Island and neighbouring Mudge Island.

91裸聊视频淚 was just like, 91裸聊视频業 can91裸聊视频檛 believe this,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she said of the encounter. 91裸聊视频淚 was really lucky.91裸聊视频�

Mihalj said she had been through the passage on a sailboat before during slack water, but wanted to see what the area looked like at high flow, so she set out for a run after checking the tide tables.

91裸聊视频淎nd I got a bonus too,91裸聊视频� she added.

While her first marine mammal encounter may have only lasted a few minutes, the runner said one of the whales was within two metres of her at one point.

91裸聊视频淭he video didn91裸聊视频檛 do justice to how close they were at first. They were right there because the water goes so deep right away,91裸聊视频� she said.

In an e-mail, the co-founder and president of the Orca Behavior Institute, Monika Wieland, referred to the sighting as a special and unusual occurrence.

Based on Mihalj91裸聊视频檚 video, Wieland said they were able to determine the whales passing through were members of J-pod by identifying their unique markings, and added that while there are records of southern resident orcas transiting through Dodd, it91裸聊视频檚 not a common occurrence. Bigg91裸聊视频檚 killer whales, she said, also known as transients, tend to travel through the passage more regularly.

91裸聊视频淭hey were likely heading through on their way to the Strait of Georgia, where they typically spend a lot of time foraging for food this time of year,91裸聊视频� Wieland said. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e lunging higher out of the water than usual to help fight the strong currents 91裸聊视频� While they don91裸聊视频檛 often swim in currents this strong, they91裸聊视频檙e well-adapted to manoeuvre through them, and do occasionally encounter strong currents in other narrow passages throughout their habitat.91裸聊视频�

Wieland also noted that orcas were also spotted in March 2022 going through Dodd Narrows, and suggested this could indicate a new preferred travel route this time of year.

Mihalj originally posted the video to Facebook91裸聊视频檚 Nanoose Whale Watch page for other people to enjoy, but noticed that it has also been shared by other wildlife institutes and environmental groups.

91裸聊视频淲hich makes it even more important,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e trying to protect [the area] right now too, because it91裸聊视频檚 not fully public land. So there91裸聊视频檚 been some response to the video in that regard, which I had no idea about.91裸聊视频�

An to preserve and expand the Cable Bay Trail area exists on on www.change.org.

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mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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