The Pacific WildLife Foundation

30 years of Conservation Research

Pacific Wildlife Foundation

 
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If you would like to make a donation to The Pacific Wildlife Foundation you can use our secure online site or your donation can be mailed to our office.

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“The Pacific WildLife Foundation believes that conducting objective science is the best way to understand nature, and applying advice in innovative ways is the best way to inform society. The number of awards and honours we have received indicates that many people agree with this approach. There is much more to do in the coming years. If you like what you see on this web site, tell us about it, and consider becoming a supporter".        Rob Butler, President.         

What's New

 

September 2010 – Mike McKinlay's video 'Eagle Among the Swarm' was voted Best Picture in the Ocean of Wings Festival to be held in conjunction with the World Seabird Conference in Victoria, British Columbia. The video can be viewed here on our web site. Click here to watch.

 

July 2010 – A recent investigation by Drs. Jim Darling of PWLF and Tim Frasier of St. Mary’s University of the genetics of gray whales indicates that the individuals that spend the summer along the coast of British Columbia are a distinct genetic entity compared to the entire herd of eastern Pacific gray whales. More

 

July 2010 – JAMESTOWN, NY - Rod MacVicar of the PWLF has been selected as one of three recipients of the 2010 Blanche Hornbeck Award for Excellence in Nature Education, given by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History to honor those who exemplify the life mission and work of the great nature educator, artist, writer and photographer Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996). More

 

June 2010 – PWLF completed a research trip to Clayoquot Sound to survey birds for the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. We are one of seven partners who are leading this initiative to map the breeding birds of British Columbia. We are also documenting seabirds at colonies along the entire coast for the atlas. 

 

June 2010 – For many years, Remote Passages based in Tofino has generously supported our ongoing whale research. We extend our thanks to them again this year for their commitment to PWLF. 

 

May 2010 – Rob Butler is a Distinguished Alumni of Capilano University. The award is for "exceptional former students who have enriched the global community through contributions they have made within their profession, their communities, or in their dedication to life long learning."

 

May 2010 – Douglas Swanston added as Associate of the Pacific WildLife Foundation

 

May 2010 – Rob Butler has joined the Board of the Nature Trust of British Columbia.

 

May 2010 – John Reynolds, Fellow of PWLF has been appointed to the Science Panel of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of the Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. Read more.

 

3 May 2010 – The Pacific WildLife Foundation has been involved in studies of consequences of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on wildlife populations in Alaska.  Led by PWLF Board Member and Simon Fraser University researcher Dan Esler, recent work has indicated that one species of sea duck, the harlequin duck, continued to be exposed to residual oil up to 20 years after the spill.  This timeline is much longer than expected, even for vulnerable species like harlequin ducks, and highlights that the risks associated with oil spills can persist well beyond the months or few years that were previously assumed.  These findings have important implications for predicting the effects that other oil spills may have, including the current Deepwater Horizon disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

April 2010 -  Doug Swanston will be assisting the Pacific WildLife Foundation conduct our final eelgrass transplant in Port Moody Inlet. Doug is an experienced diver with extensive knowledge of eelgrass transplants.

 

The Pacific Wildlife Foundation's 30th Anniversary book is ready for purchase. View & Purchase here.

 

Lava Gull Larus fuliginosus added

 

A long history of pioneering research and education has become the cornerstone of the Pacific WildLife Foundation's influence and recognition.  Our mission is to inspire conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems through scientific inquiry and education. Our conservation advice and actions are based on objective science where the results of research guide the decisions. Your support lets us continue pioneering research to rebuild ecosystems, aid the recovery of whales, provide innovative education to a wide audience and much more.

 How You Can Help

 

January 14, 2010 -  The Pacific WildLife Foundation video Eagle Among the Swarm airs on Knowledge Network starting this month and we will be teaming up with PWLF Associate Mike McKinlay Productions to make a series of short videos for Knowledge in the coming months.  

January 2010 - Associate Ruth Foster is featured in the first prize My Hero film short by 4th grader Miranda Andersen. Also, Associate Mike McKinlay's video Eagle Among the Swarm will air on the Knowledge Network in British Columbia starting in January. 

PACIFIC WILDLIFE FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 30 YEARS!

In 1980, a small group of people interested in the plight of whales 
joined Dr. Jim Darling, one of the world’s eminent whale research 
scientists, to establish the West Coast Whale Research Foundation 
(WCWRF). At that time, WCWRF was among the first organizations devoted 
to researching and educating the public about wild whales. With 
generous public support, WCWRF achieved many successes including 
pioneering research of gray whales, humpback whales and killer whales, 
television documentaries, expeditions, and stories in the 
international media. WCWRF also attracted the attention of biologists 
working in marine disciplines who supported the WCWRF’s approach to 
objective scientific research, public education and coastal wildlife 
conservation. In 2003, WCWRF transitioned into the Pacific WildLife 
Foundation (PWLF), a charitable organization operating with the same 
credo as WCWRF but with vastly expanded fields of study that 
potentially include all Pacific marine and coastal wildlife. Led now 
by prominent British Columbia biologist Dr. Rob Butler and with an 
expanded group of scientists, including Dr. Darling, PWLF has grown in 
size and scope as well as in the public support for its work for which 
it is profoundly grateful. The Pacific WildLife Foundation is proud of 
its heritage and its mandate of “objective science for conservation”. 
We are confident that it remains the key to public education about the 
important role that conservation must play in a rapidly expanding 
human world.

 

Swallow-tailed Gull Creagus furcatus added

 

November 4, 2009 -  The Pacific Wildlife Foundation is pleased to have been selected by the Celebrity Infinity of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. as their environmental partner for the Innovative Ship Award. The award includes a generous donation to the Pacific Wildlife Foundation.  

 

September 25, 2009 -  Proceedings from the Salish Sea Ecosystem Symposium are available on line. The Salish Sea refers to the combined waters of Puget Sound, Washington and the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia.

 

September 2009 - PWLF sponsored an expedition to Bute Inlet led by Ron Ydenberg to investigate the role of deer browsing on vegetation along salmon bearing streams. Accompanying Ron were Rod MacVicar and Rob Butler from PWLF and Herbert Prins and 6 colleagues and students from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The expedition included three days at the Orford River where we were generously hosted by the Homalco First Nations on their reserve. The Band is making improvements to their hatchery and guiding bear tours.

 

Blue Whale Photos Added

 

August 2009 – The first World Seabird Conference will be held in Victoria, Canada September 7-11, 2010. For more information go to their web site

 

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Basking Shark

Cetorhinus maximus

Basking Shark Identification Guide

The basking shark is the world's second largest fish next to the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Both species are gentle, slow moving plankton-feeding creatures. The basking shark is found throughout much of the temperate oceans in both hemispheres of the world. The basking shark gathers in large numbers where there is an abundance of plankton. Some individuals are 14 meters long and weigh up to 7 tonnes. Males reach an average of 9 meters, females 9.8 meters. Between seasons, basking sharks will travel hundreds of kilometers.

Learn more about Basking Sharks

The Pacific Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit coastal and marine research and education society  that inspires an appreciation for objective scientific research and conservation of the ocean. We conduct original research, develop novel education programs, and inspire an appreciation for conservation of the ocean. 

Pacific WildLife Foundation Video

Bute Inlet Video

get the flash player to see this player.

 

Basking Shark Video - Have you seen this shark?

 

Click to see Video

More Pacific Wildlife Foundation Videos

Eelgrass Mapping Video

Eelgrass Transplant Video

Ruth Foster Interview Video 

Black Oystercatcher Video - Tidecatchers

Wildlife of the Pacific

Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus

The blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth. It weighs up to 136,000 kg and is as long as 34 m. It is pale blue-gray in colour with a tiny dorsal fin. Blue whales occur in cold and temperate regions where the water is deep. They travel alone, as mother and calves, and rarely as adult pairs. Only occasionally do they gather in loose groups to feed. The blue whale is found in all the oceans of the world. The blue whale is known to occur in the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. .  There are three subspecies.  B. m.  intermedia occurs in Antarctic waters, B. m. musculus is found in the northern hemisphere and B. m.  brevicauda also known as the pygmy” blue whale is found in the southern Indian Ocean and southwest Pacific Ocean. The number of blue whales was greatly depleted by commercial whaling before 1964.

Blue Whale Feeding Behaviour

The blue whale eats mostly on euphasiids or ‘krill’ during the summer feeding season and lives off stored fat for the remaining eight months of the year. Blue whales make shallow dives that last for 10 to 20 minutes while feeding on krill near the surface. Deep dives are preceded by headstands that reveal wide tail flukes. Returning to the surface, the whale exhales blows that rise about 10 meters in the air. Blue whales eat over five tonnes of food each day during the summer feeding season. During the other 8 months of the year, it apparently doesn't eat anything, living off of stored fat. The blue whale gulps in large quantities of krill and seawater and then uses it tongue to forces the water out through the baleen plates.

Northwestern Crow

Corvus caurinus

Wily, noisy and ubiquitous, the northwestern crow is a seashore predator of marine invertebrates, and birds’ eggs and chicks along the Pacific Coast from Washington to southern Alaska. The crow is found mostly around human habitation but it also occurs along beaches and on seabird islands. 

The major food items include a variety of marine and terrestrial invertebrates. Its diet includes a beach smorgasbord of clams, whelks, crustaceans, sea urchins and small fish. On land it eats, insects, eggs and nestlings of cormorants, gulls, songbirds, oystercatchers, auklets, and herons, as well as fruits, and carrion. Some surplus food is cached for later consumption.

Learn more about Northwestern Crows

Pacific WildLife Projects

Mapping British Columbia’s Birds

British Columbia has over 300 species of breeding birds – more than any province in Canada. PWLF is one of the partners working with Bird Studies Canada to map the distribution and abundance of all breeding bird species in BC.

Dr. Rob Butler of PWLF is coordinating the BC Breeding Bird Atlas Project for Bird Studies Canada and its partners. The aim of the atlas project is to map the distribution and abundance of breeding birds throughout the province. The results will form the foundation for government conservation policy in the years to come. PWLF will participate using our boating and wildlife skills along the remote BC coast.

 

 
 
 

From Whales To Ecosystems - 'Everything Is Connected'

The West Coast Whale Research Foundation (WCWRF) was founded in 1981 to administer, support and conduct whale research and education programs. At that time, there were few similar research organizations in the world and none in British Columbia whose priority was the study of living whale populations. With generous public support, WCWRF met its mandate by contributing significantly to the first scientific descriptions of gray, humpback and killer whales in British Columbia and the North Pacific, and through education programs ranging from popular articles and books to the 1992 Gemini award winning documentary ‘Island of Whales’ narrated by Gregory Peck. A tenet of conservation biology is that the requirements of natural species protection include securing the integrity of the ecosystem of which it is part. This concept has long been at the root of traditional Nuu-chah-nulth culture on the west coast of North America that simply states, “everything is connected”. Melding these traditional and scientific principles, the West Coast Whale Research Foundation evolved to the Pacific WildLife Foundation in 2004, and significantly broadened its mandate to support research and education programs of coastal and marine ecosystems. This has been a natural progression for us as individuals, as much of our whale research that preceded this administrative change with studies of gray whale prey species and habitat preferences, as an example.

 
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