Strawberry Isle Scuttlebutt
May ‘97 report by Rod Palm

Well May was a bit of a let down after all the Killer Whale visits we had in April. The seldom sighted T068's hung around the inlets for a couple of more days in the beginning of the month, two mystery animals were reported in Sidney Inlet on the eighth and that was about it.

It's been three months since Canadian Parks Service donated the new core sampler for our work in the Gray Whale feeding ground at Grice Bay and already the data is looking a lot better. It's interesting that since March there has been a significant increase in the Ghost Shrimp's average size (18 to 28mm.) and volume (36 to 58ml.) per sample even though the numbers have literally dropped by one half (129 to 64). We attribute the drop in numbers to the Gray Whale "Half Moon" totally disrupting the study by gorging in the bay for all of April and half of May. This is an excellent illustration of how much extra bulk is gained with a size increase. Look at it this way, if a six-foot man weighing 200 pounds were to grow an inch from his head and feet while expanding an inch all around, he would gain about 104 pounds.

Whilst on the subject, the question of the month was, "Are the Gray Whales getting more protein from a kilogram of shrimp than Killer Whales are getting from a kilogram of fish." "Nope, a Coho Salmon actually has 8% more protein and 333% more fat than shrimp." Bottom line, "Baleen whales have to consume a great deal more volume for the same nutrition." Note that these figures from The Nutrition Centre are looking at just the meat and not the guts though it's not likely that would change things much. Our thanks to our Simon Fraser University advisor (Dr. Brian Hartwick) for digging up this info.

On May 28, we had our annual general meeting. Though the turnout was a bit disappointing (everyone is too busy getting into the swing of the tourist season), we did get most of our business taken care of. Staying on as directors are Wilfred Atleo - field coordinator / First Nations liaison, Jamie Bray - financial advisor / Whale Watch Co.liaison and Bill McIntyre - internal affairs' / Whale Festival liaison. New directors are Bob Nixon - public relations / technical advisor and Colleen - local affairs / fund raising. All these folks must be heartily commended for the endless hours they are putting into our society. I have personally stepped down as a director but retain a position as Principal Researcher. Kechura has taken on the chores of Treasurer.

One of the things we would like to see happen this year is for our Society to build up our group of active members. Looking for something interesting to get involved in? One of our current projects that desperately needs attending to is the Baird's Beaked Whale skeleton. All the marine critters have done their work so it's time to pull the bones out of the water, rinse 'em off, scrub 'em down and spread 'em out on the roof of the "Norvan" where a couple of months in the sun will bleach out the remaining oil. Come the first week of September, the bones will be ready for their sealer epoxy treatment. We are hoping to put, at least parts, of this skeleton on display in the Pacific Rim Park Interpretation centre or some other suitable public facility. We are so far backed up that there is always something to do so don't be shy, give us a call, 725-3958.

As if we didn't have enough to do, a recent series of events has made Kechura the ward of a 14-week-old River Otter. There were actually two of these little guys but sadly we lost one of them. Here's Kechura to tell you about it.

On June 6, 1997, Strawberry Isle Research received a call about a baby River Otter which appeared to have been abandoned by its mother. Rehabilitating injured or abandoned animals is not apart of our mandate, so, I decided to care for the otter out of personal interest. Having quite an extensive library on such subjects, a great location and the expertise of several local people, I felt that I could handle the responsibility of caring for this animal.

Working under Rory Paterson's wildlife rehabilitation permit, we immediately began the construction of his housing, which includes a 450-gallon salt water aquarium with a pump, installed by Ian Bruce, that brings in constant flow of fresh water from the ocean. The otter was not willing to suckle. Therefore, decided that tube feeding would be the only way to be sure that he was getting enough to eat. His health only deteriorated, so when we heard that there was another otter in Errington, we decided to have it come and stay, hoping it would lift our little otters' spirits. When the new otter arrived, I knew that our little otter was not healthy. River otters give birth in March - April, which allows us to assume that the two were about the same age, our little otter was also approx. 2 lbs. lighter. He was still unwilling to eat and was becoming more lethargic by the hour. This new otter couldn't get enough food and was so full of life.

On the night of June 11, I was awake every 2 hours giving him electrolytes and when 7:00 a.m. rolled around, I asked Rod if he wouldn't mind doing the next feeding, as I needed a little more sleep. When there was only silence, I knew something was wrong. Rod then came in and told me that our little otter was gone. I cried all day, feeling as though it was my fault. After speaking to Rod, Rory Paterson and several others, I came to realize that maybe this otter was beyond revitalizing. Why was he left by his mother to begin with? I gave it my all and now know that it just wasn't meant to be.

A bit of good news, the otter that he left behind is doing very well. She's presently being weaned and is eating whole fish live. We would like to give her as much of her natural diet as possible. Rod has identified much of the natural food stocks to the following; pile and striped perch, shiners, blenny eels, bullheads and several species of sculpin and small flat fish, another favourite is red rock crab, but we have a steady supply of these. Unfortunately, it's very hard to keep up on her demand for fresh fish, and would appreciate any help that we can get. Any kids fishing off the docks, if you could keep your fish alive in a bucket and just give us a call @ 725-3958, they would certainly be going to a good cause. A special thanks to the kids that have already come around with fish and to Dick Close at the Weigh West Marine Resort for providing us with supplementary frozen anchovies.

Rod back. Whether or not our society should be getting involved with this sort of thing remains to be seen. We'll just have to see how this one works out. I personally feel that we are in an ideal situation to be acting as a halfway house for young River Otters needing to adjust to life in the wild. As the animal spends more time in the ocean, we plan to leave the door to her den open so that she can come and go as she pleases. It's hoped that her returns will get fewer and farther apart until she becomes fully adjusted. I think that she won't completely break away until she gets the 'call of the wild' and mates with some handsome devil of a wild otter. Let us know if you think that our society should get involved with this sort of activity.

As a last minute update, the little otter has progressed from hand feeding to dipping her head into an ice cream bucket full of live Blenny Eels, to diving into a picnic cooler. She goes swimming with us in the ocean where she snoops around a bit but is a long way from catching her own open water fish. She is also starting to get vicious at feeding time when she is killing live prey. This is a good thing. Our intent is for her to return to a wild state, not to end up as a dependent pet.