A whale researcher will ask British Columbians to be good neighbours to marine giants in an upcoming webinar presented by Nanaimo Area Land Trust.

Jackie Hildering, humpback whale researcher in Port McNeill, will explain how humans can help protect humpback whales in the Return of Giants, a webinar about getting a second chance with the whales that she says came close to extinction before numbers rebounded.

Hildering said data is poor on how many whales there were when whaling was halted in Canada in 1966, but 91裸聊视频渟ightings were the exception91裸聊视频� along the B.C. coast up into the 2000s when their numbers rose from an estimated seven humpbacks sighted in 2003 to 96 counted in the waters of northeast Vancouver Island in 2019.

91裸聊视频淚t truly is a second chance and it91裸聊视频檚 not just population growth post-whaling. They91裸聊视频檙e also shifting from somewhere91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� said Hildering, who is director of education and communications for the Marine Education and Research Society. 91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 know where that shift is from and what that means in terms of climate and/or prey, so this is a unique chance to learn so much.91裸聊视频�

She said there91裸聊视频檚 knowledge to be gained about climate, ecosystems, social associations and feeding strategies from the whales, which can rest just below the water91裸聊视频檚 surface or surface unexpectedly after very long dives.

91裸聊视频淲hat has also become so incredibly necessary is boater education,91裸聊视频� Hildering said. 91裸聊视频淸Humpbacks] are a game changer for all flavours of boaters on our coast because they91裸聊视频檙e giants. The mature females are as big as big as school buses.91裸聊视频�

Humpback habits, physical size and even how they sense their environment is different from orcas and dolphins that hunt with their natural form of echo-locating sonar that allows them to track and pinpoint prey and other objects, such as boats.

91裸聊视频淸Humpbacks] don91裸聊视频檛 have the bio-sonar of toothed whales,91裸聊视频� Hildering said. 91裸聊视频淓specially when they91裸聊视频檙e feeding, having left our rich waters to go to the breeding lagoons of primarily Mexico and Hawaii, they are hungry. They are feeding and they are most often oblivious to boats, so that91裸聊视频檚 one huge educational need to bring across to people.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 also difficult to portray how high the risks of net entanglement and collisions are, she said, because most whales sink when they die. With no dead whale bodies floating on the water91裸聊视频檚 surface there91裸聊视频檚 no evidence of a death, but 50 per cent of the whales studied show scars of boat collisions and net entanglement.

91裸聊视频淭here wasn91裸聊视频檛 even the legal obligation to report collision or entanglement up to 91裸聊视频� 2018 and even Transport Canada hasn91裸聊视频檛 caught up,91裸聊视频� Hildering said. 91裸聊视频淚t will change, but how is even the best-intentioned boater supposed to know about whale behaviour, let alone what the marine mammal regulations are?91裸聊视频�

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Hildering is often asked why humpback whales are here, but the better question, she said, is why would humpbacks leave an area where they91裸聊视频檙e finding food. The whales belong here because the waters around Vancouver Island are rich in the 91裸聊视频減lanktonic soup91裸聊视频� they thrive on, the researcher said.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 this thinking that they91裸聊视频檙e in transit, but what our research supports is these are neighbours that come back to specific spots on our coast year upon year upon year,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淥f the 96 I referenced from 2019, 89 per cent of those were whales we had documented previously. They are specialists in certain strategies for certain prey in this area 91裸聊视频� knowing what works in a certain area like fishermen and fisherwomen do.91裸聊视频�

Hildering, also known as 91裸聊视频榯he Marine Detective91裸聊视频� and standup comic of marine conservation, is an educator, cold-water diver and underwater photographer, who has worked on-camera with PBS, BBC and Animal Planet, so next week91裸聊视频檚 webinar promises to be entertaining and educational, said NALT in a press release. The free webinar will be presented Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. Links to attend the webinar will be made available Monday, Jan. 18. For more information, contact paul@nalt.bc.ca.

To learn more about the Marine Education and Research Society, visit and for more information about Hildering, visit .

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