Evidence of killer whale predation on a yearling bowhead whale in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut

Arctic Science

Stephen A. Raverty¹  Steven H. Ferguson²  Brent G. Young³  William R. Koski⁴  Sarah M.E. Fortune⁵  Ricky Kilabuk⁶ 

[1] Animal Health Center, 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 2M3, Canada.;Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N6, Canada. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.;Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N6, Canada.;LGL Limited, 22 Fisher Street, P.O. Box 280, King City, ON L7B 1A6, Canada.;Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.;P.O. Box 265, Pangnirtung, NU X0A 0R0, Canada.;

关键词: balaena mysticetus;    orcinus orca;    predation;    arctic;    nunavut;   

DOI  :  10.1139/as-2019-0014

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown