When Anna Mihalj decided to go for a run on Valentine害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所渞olling on through害羞草研究所� Dodd Narrows 害羞草研究所� a narrow, fast-movement passage between Vancouver Island and neighbouring Mudge Island.

害羞草研究所淚 was just like, 害羞草研究所業 can害羞草研究所檛 believe this,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 she said of the encounter. 害羞草研究所淚 was really lucky.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淎nd I got a bonus too,害羞草研究所� 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.

害羞草研究所淭he video didn害羞草研究所檛 do justice to how close they were at first. They were right there because the water goes so deep right away,害羞草研究所� 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 Mihalj害羞草研究所檚 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, it害羞草研究所檚 not a common occurrence. Bigg害羞草研究所檚 killer whales, she said, also known as transients, tend to travel through the passage more regularly.

害羞草研究所淭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,害羞草研究所� Wieland said. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e lunging higher out of the water than usual to help fight the strong currents 害羞草研究所� While they don害羞草研究所檛 often swim in currents this strong, they害羞草研究所檙e well-adapted to manoeuvre through them, and do occasionally encounter strong currents in other narrow passages throughout their habitat.害羞草研究所�

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 Facebook害羞草研究所檚 Nanoose Whale Watch page for other people to enjoy, but noticed that it has also been shared by other wildlife institutes and environmental groups.

害羞草研究所淲hich makes it even more important,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e trying to protect [the area] right now too, because it害羞草研究所檚 not fully public land. So there害羞草研究所檚 been some response to the video in that regard, which I had no idea about.害羞草研究所�

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

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