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(J Towers/Bay Cetology photo.)

The fate of Brave Little Hunter remains a mystery

Dead or alive?

That’s the question the public continues to ask following the escape of the young female killer whale, Brave Little Hunter (kʷiisaḥiʔis), from a tidal lagoon on northwestern Vancouver Island last April.

Whale researcher Jared Towers, executive director of Bay Cetology (https://baycetology.org), has been asking the same question, but says it may be several months more before the answer is clearer. As the weather improves, more people take to the water and are in a better position to spot the whale.

“The mystery continues,” he told sixmountains.ca. “It will be interesting to see what the spring and summer holds.

“If she shows up this year, that’ll be wonderful. And if not, then we’ll have to start considering she didn’t make it.”

The last confirmed sighting of Brave Little Hunter, a threatened transient whale, occurred July 10 at the Nuchatlitz islands, south of the lagoon from which she escaped near Zeballos. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1527725734479584

“She looked good in the photos and was either travelling with other whales who were helping her feed or was feeding herself,” Towers says. “Either way, that was good news. If she could keep that up, that’s great.”

Unconfirmed reports of the whale continued up until last fall in the area. “I think those sightings were quite likely accurate,” Towers says. “When you see a small killer whale by itself…there’s not many of those around. But we can’t say for sure.”

Brave Little Hunter’s family members were observed January 19 in Tahsis Inlet, but photos were not good enough to determine whether she was present.

“It speaks to how wild and remote this part of the coast is and how important it is to take photos when people do see whales,” Towers says. "It really allows us to track the movements and behaviour of this population.”

He encourages the public to submit photos to https://finwave.io .

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— Larry Pynn, Jan. 31, 2025

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