Feb 24 - Bereaved orca no longer carrying calf

Good morning !

Drenched with water and buffeted by cold winds. That's how the heavy weather has left plenty of us around town lately—but it's nothing unusual for local whale researchers. They go out regularly onto the windswept Pacific waters to scout off the coastline for the endangered orcas that locals—and people around the world—care deeply about.

Their latest update has brought back good, although bittersweet, news. Read about it below.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧 11 / 7

Tomorrow: 🌧 11 / 6

Day after: 🌦️ 11 / 5

NEWS

Southern Resident orca no longer pushing her dead calf

The Center for Whale Research (CWR) confirmed last week that Tahlequah / J35 has stopped pushing the calf that was confirmed dead at New Year’s. Exactly how long the behaviour lasted is unclear, but it was at least until mid-January. 

This was the second time J35 was seen pushing her dead calf, both of which were female. The whale originally made international headlines in 2018 after pushing her calf's body for nearly 17 days. She does have a pair of male offspring, though, and was seen swimming with one son during the CWR team's Feb. 15 trip from Victoria Harbour to Race Rocks.

The CWR says the latest death was particularly tragic because females can lead their groups as matriarch, and the at-risk population’s growth is limited by how many reproductive-aged females it has. 

Pod’s other new calf alive and well

Despite the loss, the group will still add a female calf this winter. J62—the other orca born over the holidays—was spotted recently swimming with its mother and was confirmed to be a healthy female.  

A belated World Whale Day

The J-Pod encounter happened the day before World Whale Day last Sunday, which celebrates whales and raises awareness of risks to them. Here are some more recent whale stories to mark the occasion:

Dining like Hannibal: Orcas hunt Great Whites to eat their livers, Australian DNA analysis shows. [Guardian]

Why have only 2 blue whale births ever been recorded? University of Washington study examines. [Phys.org]

Multiple conservation groups sue federal government over delay in protecting Southern Residents. [Capital Daily]

Australia euthanizes 157 false killer whales on Tasmanian Beach after failing to get them back into water. [Smithsonian]

Kayaker ends up in humpback's mouth—caught on video. [NPR]

First-ever footage of orca teaching calves to hunt is featured in a new documentary from Nature / PBS, Expedition Killer Whale. You can watch the scene below:

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Very windy today, forecast warns. Gusts reached 80km/h overnight.

Another rainy week, with some sunny breaks expected on Weds.

Tax-filing season begins: Key dates & details. [CP]

Victoria-Saanich Amalgamation Citizens’ Assembly public meetings. [Registration deadline today at 5pm]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Ska & Reggae Festival announces lineup for 26th summer fest

The lineup for one of Victoria's most iconic summer festivals was just released this weekend, and its lineup is as eclectic as ever. The fest remains rooted in its namesake—ska and reggae—but over the years has grown out into plenty of neighbouring genre territory.

This year's top headliners illustrate that wide spectrum of genres (and climates): Propagandhi is one of Canada’s best-known hardcore bands and comes from Winnipeg, while The Pharcyde have been one of California's iconic underground hip-hop acts for more than 35 years.

Other top acts include Dub FX of Australia, and a true icon of reggae and dancehall: Sister Nancy, who continues the festival's long-running island connection between here and Jamaica.

Curling Club will turn into Long Beach, California for a day

Jakobs Castle is best recognized for its frontman Jakob Nowell's other job: Lead singer of Long Beach's legendary reggae-ska-punk band Sublime, whose original singer was Jakob's father Bradley Nowell until his death in 1996. He'll be joined by the Long Beach Dub Allstars—founded by the surviving Sublime members—at the Victoria Curling Club on the Saturday for a celebration of Long Beach music.

“Just a big family” among artists & local organizers

Victoria BC Ska and Reggae Society's Jesse Horwood spoke to Capital Daily for the 24th edition of the fest. He has worked a number of roles at it over the years, from volunteer and organizer to president to performing musician with local band Apex Breaks.

“We’re just so deeply in the community, it feels like home to us,” he said of his collaborators.

The Victoria BC Ska and Reggae Society aims to educate and unite people through the festival and through the artistic development of ska and reggae on an international scale.

Horwood first played music at the festival 16 years ago, alongside current Apex Breaks bandmate Drew Murgatroyd.

“Ska Fest is just a big family,” says Murgatroyd. “The people that we’ve grown up with and all these musical influences from the Island, and international artists that we admire and look up to, and all of a sudden, they’re a part of the community.”

With files from Sarah Madsen

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🐦⭐Seagull tries to eat a sea star—unsuccessfully—in Nanaimo. [VanIsleWildlife]

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🗞️ In Other News

Counsellors choose to work for less, or for free, to keep refugee centre alive
The Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR) has spent a decade helping often-traumatized newcomers adapt to a new life. But it, and many orgs like it, lost funding this year. Its workers are absorbing pay cuts to keep up what its director calls a “life-changing offering” for 2,500+ total sessions per year. [Vic News]

Motorcyclist was going 211km/h on Pat Bay, Saanich Police say
The rider got a $483 fine and 7-day impound for going nearly 3x the posted limit. [Police social posts]

$4.2M in products sold as part of Victorian Epicure bankruptcy
MNP is in charge of the peninsula-based business and is liquidating product with online sales rather than the Avon-style direct sales “ambassadors” the company had used for decades. MNP attributes the company's fatal revenue drop to fewer ambassadors (partly due to younger people's disinterest in that type of work) and lower revenue per ambassador. [Times Colonist]

UVic wins 7 medals at Canada West track & field championships 
Gold and silver in the women’s 3000m went to Marisha Thompson and Elissa Frielink, who were also named conference all-stars. The entire men's 4x800 relay team were also all-stars, and took gold last weekend in Regina. Nationals begin March 7. [Vikes]

Parksville commits $150k to larger sand sculpting space
The Parksville Beach Festival draws some 100k visitors in July and August, and moving it (within the same park) to be closer to the parking lot will allow for more sculptors beginning in 2026. [NanaimoNewsNow]

🗓️ Things to do

🎷 Celebrate Music and Words: Afro-Cuban saxophonist Noedy Hechavarria Duharte will perform his original music—poetic, complex, and heavy on harmonies. Hosted by the BC Black History Awareness Society at the Belfry Theatre. 7-9pm today. [Admission by donation] [Tickets]

📽 Movies this week

At The Roxy (Quadra & Bay): Oscar nominees The Brutalist, Nickel Boys, & Flow. [Schedule]

At the RBCM IMAX festival: Lost Orca, Extreme Weather, Superhuman Body, Meerkats 3D, Journey to the South Pacific 3D, Ireland 3D, Volcanoes, Arctic, Lasting Impressions 3D, Mesmerica XL. [Schedule]

At Cinecenta (UVic): Docs Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, about Congo & its place in the Cold War, & Blue Rodeo: Lost Together, about the beloved Canadian band. Dramas The Room Next Door, with Tilda Swinton & Julianne Moore as friends facing cancer, and The Last Showgirl, with Islander Pam Anderson as a Vegas act facing irrelevance. [Schedule]

At Vic Theatre (Douglas & Humboldt): Blue Rodeo as well, plus Vermiglio (period piece in Italian village), and The Day Iceland Stood Still (about the country's 1975 women's strike). [Schedule / tickets]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Sunday newsletter: How shoes kickstarted BC's Black History. BHM events this week. Mars bomber reaches AZ. [Feb. 23]

Oak Bay cheese shop Charelli's is closing in 3 months. [Tasting Victoria]

Quake shakes Victoria; here's why some neighbourhoods (and species) felt it more than other. [Feb. 22 newsletter]

Local book publisher targeted by anti-2SLGBTQ+ censorship in US, owner tells Capital Daily.

New private community-garden land is opening in Saanich. [CTV]

Heiltsuk Nation passes new written constitution. [CP]  

Crown seeks up to 4 years for former youth worker's sexual touching conviction. [Times Colonist]

Spot the cougar: Can you see the big cat blended into the woods of East Sooke Park. [Facebook photo]