Whale of a rescue in Churchill

Manitoba conservation officers determined to rescue polar bears in distress on the Churchill shoreline were shocked when they instead came across seven beluga whales stranded in shallow water.

Churchill’s conservation office received a call at about 7:20 a.m. Monday about a white object in the water covered by seagulls half a kilometre from a public beach.

“When the public calls us and they say something white, we treat it like a bear call because we receive the call a lot,” said conservation officer Vitalii Skrynnyk.

Skrynnyk’s colleague went to investigate and discovered three adult beluga whales and four calves stranded because of low tides.

“They were naturally stranded, like in a pool,” said Skrynnyk.

He said the area where they were stuck was separated from the coastline by about 60 metres on all sides and was 1.5 metres deep.

Skrynnyk remained on the shore and requested help from RCMP and Parks Canada, who helped guard the area for polar bears during the rescue.

“Luckily, we didn’t have any bears in the area,” said Skrynnyk. “It’s one of the biggest concerns with blood present, because bears have a very unique nose, and they can smell it from kilometres away.”

Once he got to the water, Skrynnyk flipped over some of the calves who were lying on their side. He said the mammals were unharmed other than minor injuries from seagulls having pecked them.

“My biggest concern was if there was any eye damage or if their holes are blocked by any debris,” he said.

They stayed with the whales and poured water on them to keep them cool and hydrated, and scared away about 50 seagulls. At noon, the tide rose enough for the mammals to swim free.

The ordeal was over in about three hours, he said.

Incidents of beluga whales getting stuck in Churchill are rare, said research scientist Courtney Shuert.

“It’s not unknown to have happened, but it’s not super common either,” she said.

The conservation program manager for Assiniboine Park Conservancy said whales sometimes get lost while navigating and get stuck when they underestimate water depth.

“They’re exploring an area they’re not familiar in and then a wave brings them in and they’re like ‘whoops, this is a little too shallow for me,’” she said.

Shuert was impressed with the team rescue effort.

“It was good the citizen made the call to conservation officers, and they were able to co-ordinate with folks to make sure the whales were watched and cared for. It was a really great response all around,” she said.

tiago.resko@freepress.mb.ca