People have been flocking to the water near Nova Scotia’s Canso Causeway to see an orca whale that has come to the area. Kayla Partridge spotted the whale Saturday and Sunday in the water that separates Cape Breton from mainland Nova Scotia and was able to capture impressive pictures and video. While Partridge and her family were on a boat, crowds stopped by on shore on Monday to catch a glimpse of the creature. “That would be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill,” said Raylene McDougall, who is from the Glace Bay, N.S., area but now lives in New Brunswick. McDougall said she was planning a trip home to Cape Breton anyway, but word of the whale’s arrival was enough for her to make the journey a bit early. “I’m from Cape Breton and we were coming here, but we came now because of the orca,” McDougall said. Another couple visiting from Minnesota on motorcycle saw people taking pictures and decided to pull over. “(We have travelled) about 3,000 miles so far,” said Tom O’Connor of St. Paul, Minn. “We’re having a blast. (We) hoped to see an orca today but not yet. It must be a rare sighting here because (people are) lined up and people stopping regularly.” Representatives from the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans also paid a visit to make sure the animal is doing well. Tonya Wimmer of MARS said the killer whale still appears to be healthy. “Sometimes it came to check us out, which was pretty remarkable,” Wimmer said. She is reminding people not to approach the whale and that federal regulations dictate boats stay at least 100 metres away. Wimmer said she and DFO officials were in the water for three to four hours. “At the end (the whale) actually started to make its way further back out towards the Gulf of St. Lawrence and heading up the coast, so we’re hopeful that it actually has figured out which way is out,” she said. Wimmer said MARS and DFO will continue to keep tabs on the orca’s movements and condition until it swims back into more familiar waters. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
