3-Year Survey Of Inuit Hunters; Orcas Moving Steadily North, Increased Narwhal, Beluga Predation
Warming Arctic waters and depleting sea ice are making it easier for killer whales to swim ever northward in search of sources of prey, including other species of whales, a new study has found.
After spending three years interviewing more than 100 Inuit hunters from 11 different Nunavut communities, researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the University of Manitoba believe killer whales, also known as orcas, are increasingly targeting prey in northern areas where they didn’t previously .
“Killer whales have been seen more and further into the Canadian Arctic, and when they go there, they eat,” said Steven Ferguson, a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and co-author of the study, published Monday in the online journal Aquatic Biosystems. “Now it looks like some species might be depleted due to predation by killer whales. That’s something we didn’t expect.”
Inuit hunters interviewed for the study reported seeing more killer whales targeting narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales, which often grow much larger than orcas. Sightings were reported as far north as Foxe Basin, north of Hudson Bay, and Lancaster Sound, between Devon and Baffin Islands.
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http://www.thestar.com/article/1123942--killer-whales-finding-prey-further-north-as-arctic-ice-melts-inuit-tell-scientists
