Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut
Accounts of killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation on marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic are relatively uncommon. Although second-hand reports of killer whale predation events in the Arctic are more common in recent years, these observations are generally poorly documented and the outcome of attac...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/as-2019-0014 2024-09-15T17:49:58+00:00 Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut Young, Brent G. Fortune, Sarah M.E. Koski, William R. Raverty, Stephen A. Kilabuk, Ricky Ferguson, Steven H. 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0014 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2019-0014 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2019-0014 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Arctic Science volume 6, issue 1, page 53-61 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 journal-article 2020 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0014 2024-07-25T04:10:06Z Accounts of killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation on marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic are relatively uncommon. Although second-hand reports of killer whale predation events in the Arctic are more common in recent years, these observations are generally poorly documented and the outcome of attacks are often unknown. On 12 August 2016, a floating bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) carcass was found off-shore in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut — presumably predated by killer whales that were sighted in the area. Inspection of the carcass revealed injuries consistent with published accounts of killer whale predation on large whales and observations of killer whale predation on bowheads described in Inuit traditional knowledge. The bowhead was male, 6.1 m long in good nutritional condition and estimated between 14 and 16 months old. As a recently weaned yearling, this whale would have been highly vulnerable to killer whale predation. With decreasing summer sea ice making some areas of the Arctic more accessible, the incursion and presence of killer whales in the Arctic is expected to increase. A better understanding of Arctic killer whale predation pressure is needed to predict the potential impact they will have on the eastern Canada–west Greenland bowhead population as well as on other marine mammal prey. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Cumberland Sound Greenland inuit Killer Whale Nunavut Orca Orcinus orca Sea ice Killer whale Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Science 6 1 53 61 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
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English |
description |
Accounts of killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation on marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic are relatively uncommon. Although second-hand reports of killer whale predation events in the Arctic are more common in recent years, these observations are generally poorly documented and the outcome of attacks are often unknown. On 12 August 2016, a floating bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) carcass was found off-shore in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut — presumably predated by killer whales that were sighted in the area. Inspection of the carcass revealed injuries consistent with published accounts of killer whale predation on large whales and observations of killer whale predation on bowheads described in Inuit traditional knowledge. The bowhead was male, 6.1 m long in good nutritional condition and estimated between 14 and 16 months old. As a recently weaned yearling, this whale would have been highly vulnerable to killer whale predation. With decreasing summer sea ice making some areas of the Arctic more accessible, the incursion and presence of killer whales in the Arctic is expected to increase. A better understanding of Arctic killer whale predation pressure is needed to predict the potential impact they will have on the eastern Canada–west Greenland bowhead population as well as on other marine mammal prey. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Young, Brent G. Fortune, Sarah M.E. Koski, William R. Raverty, Stephen A. Kilabuk, Ricky Ferguson, Steven H. |
spellingShingle |
Young, Brent G. Fortune, Sarah M.E. Koski, William R. Raverty, Stephen A. Kilabuk, Ricky Ferguson, Steven H. Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
author_facet |
Young, Brent G. Fortune, Sarah M.E. Koski, William R. Raverty, Stephen A. Kilabuk, Ricky Ferguson, Steven H. |
author_sort |
Young, Brent G. |
title |
Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
title_short |
Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
title_full |
Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut |
title_sort |
evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in cumberland sound, nunavut |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0014 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2019-0014 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2019-0014 |
genre |
Arctic Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Cumberland Sound Greenland inuit Killer Whale Nunavut Orca Orcinus orca Sea ice Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Arctic Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Cumberland Sound Greenland inuit Killer Whale Nunavut Orca Orcinus orca Sea ice Killer whale |
op_source |
Arctic Science volume 6, issue 1, page 53-61 ISSN 2368-7460 2368-7460 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0014 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
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6 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
53 |
op_container_end_page |
61 |
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1810291819880120320 |