Lonely Bay of Fundy orca may help researchers understand species behaviour

A Quebec-based marine researcher is hoping the regular visits of an orca whale to the Bay of Fundy will help shed light on the behaviour of the species in Atlantic Canada.

An orca dubbed Old Thom has made nearly annual appearances in the area for the past two decades, particularly around New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island.

Lyne Morissette, CEO of marine consulting firm Expertise Marine, said knowledge about the presence of the species in the region is limited.

There is some observation data from Newfoundland and the nearby islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Morissette said, and there are two or three scientists who occasionally work on orcas in the region. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans also has produced documents on existing knowledge about the species in the Atlantic.

But there's more work to be done, she said.

"Old Thom means everything for future research," said Morissette. "The first step in establishing a program on orcas for the northwest Atlantic is to understand where they are, when they are here, and why."

Morissette is hoping to conduct research on the topic, beginning with collecting current data on orcas and looking for any missing elements in the northwest Atlantic region. 

She also plans to collaborate with First Nations groups familiar with orcas. 

"In the West Coast they have knowledge on orcas and it's part of their culture," she said. "We want to make sure we highlight the Indigenous knowledge that we have here about marine mammals as well." 

Witnessing an icon

Morissette recently learned of the mysterious Old Thom through her friend Alain Clavette's sighting in the Bay of Fundy on July 22.

"Someone shouted, 'orca,'" Clavette said, although initially he thought they said skua, a type of bird. 

After seeing the fin emerge, he thought it was a shark. Clavette said he was filled with adrenaline, anxiety and excitement.

"As soon as I realized what I was looking at I screamed, 'Old Thom, Old Thom!' I've been dreaming of this day for 20 years. It's like meeting a rock star."

Clavette saw the orca was accompanied by dozens of white-sided dolphins. He thought that was strange, and contacted Morissette. 

"Old Thom is an unusual observation," Morissette said. "Usually they are really social animals that are organized in pods or families."

She said it's rare to see a single orca with a group of another species such as dolphins.

"It's not as much the interaction with dolphins than the fact that he's alone is interesting."

Morissette said loss of family, or being orphaned, is often the reason why other animals are alone. There are small pockets of orcas in the Bay of Fundy but Old Thom never joins them, she said.

"Why this one is more related to a group of dolphins and why he doesn't go back to his family or his group is an impossible question to answer, but what it does show is the adaptability."

Unbreakable code 

Morissette said Old Thom is one of the few animals on the planet to decipher dolphin language through their use of frequency vocalization. U.S.-based companies are using artificial intelligence to decode the language, but humans have been unable to decipher it thus far.

"Years ago there was a study done with captive animals and after three weeks an orca could learn how to decode the communications of dolphins, so Thom seems to be able to adapt fast."

She credits the marine mammals' intelligence, emphasizing how advanced they are. 

Morissette hopes Old Thom and his unusual ways will help her research colleagues in the U.S. and the Bay of Fundy unravel more mysteries about the species.