Many Vancouverites have reported whale sightings in and around Vancouver in recent weeks \u2014 a sign of a remarkable recovery after many of their populations experienced a sharp decline in the 20th century.<\/p>\n
For example, locals have filmed transient orca pods swimming under the Lions Gate Bridge, <\/a>and a humpback whale was spotted in North Vancouver\u2019s Deep Cove<\/a>.<\/p>\n Andrew Trites, a UBC professor and the director of the marine mammal research unit, said that this time of year is when both humpback and grey whales migrate from southern waters up north to spend the summer feeding.<\/p>\n He said this relatively recent resurgence of marine life is \u201cnormal, but it\u2019s also part of the new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n Back when he moved to B.C. in 1980, he didn\u2019t recall seeing a single whale in the area and likened the area to a desert.<\/p>\n \u201cI was not going to see them walking around Stanley Park,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What happened to the whale populations?<\/p>\n The Salish Sea had a population of humpback whales until the early 1900s, but every last one of them was killed by hunters.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it took them a hundred years to come back,\u201d Trites said.<\/p>\n Humpback whaling ended in the 1960s<\/a>, which has allowed the Pacific population to recover. In 1997, \u201cBig Mama<\/a>,\u201d who has since become a well-known phenomenon, finally returned to the Salish Sea and has come back nearly every year since, introducing her calves to the area.<\/p>\n Further, transient killer whale populations have rebounded following Canada\u2019s ban on culling seals and sea lions on the West Coast in the 1970s. These killer whales eat seals and sea lions, and so once those populations started recovering, they had more food.<\/p>\n Trites likened the resurgence of these whale populations to that of putting money into a bank account with compound interest \u2014 the growth seems slow at first as you slowly add in money, but all of a sudden it will start to increase quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been saving for this return of whales, and I\u2019d say the savings account started about 20 years ago. But it\u2019s only in the most recent years that we suddenly see the compound interest really exploding.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the Salish Sea is home to white-sided dolphins, harbour porpoises, Dall\u2019s porpoises, seals, and sea lions.<\/p>\n Today, the Salish Sea is far from resembling a desert in terms of the life it holds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gave nature a chance, and look how well it\u2019s responded,\u201d said Trites. \u201cTo me, the Salish Sea, it\u2019s our Serengeti. It\u2019s one of the most incredible wildlife preserves.\u201d<\/p>\n But it isn\u2019t all good news<\/p>\n