Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 18:51
Forums
Ask Ms. Prevenas

Ms. Prevenas, my class was reading your journals today, and they were excited to hear about the Killer whales and walrus. Can you give us an estimate of how many of each you have seen so far, including the seals? The general population numbers you gave made us wonder how many were in the area you are passing through.

Best of luck on your adventure!

Lollie Garay/Grade 5 students

Houston, Tx

Tue, 04/24/2007 - 07:44

Maggie Prevenas

Hello! 
Thank you so much for reading the journals. I am trying to create creature features that will go with all the new creatures we see each day. Today, April 23, was not a very productive day. There were not very many animals we saw or counted.
 
On Saturday, we saw a pod of about 7 killer whales. Here is a photo taken by Dave Forcucci, one of the team onboard the Healy. This pod was the first one we saw since we've been on the ship
 
 
 I asked Dr. Michael Cameron, our ice seal team expert, about numbers of ice seals and walrus. There are actually two observation techniques they use to get population counts. One is the helicopter, the numbers seen from the helicopter will not be ready for some time yet. The ice team records what they see from a helicopter about 400 feet up. The numbers are still in voice form, the transcriber will translate them into numbers later. That is where they have seen the orcas and the pod of 60 some belugas and one grey whale.
 
Much of the observation is taking place up in the bridge. From 9 am to 9pm each day, there are at least two of the science team standing at opposite sides of the bridge using binoculars to identify and count ice seals.They can only see out about a mile with acuracy. Some of the seals they see are just too far out to tell what species they are. The seal team only observes when the ship is going forward, and stops when the ship needs to send down testing equipment.
 
The following results have been reported after about two weeks of observation, from the bridge:
 
125 bearded seals
7 ribbon seals
37 ringed seals
113 spotted seals
226 walrus
78 unknown species
1 unknown cetacean (whale)
 
It is so exciting to wake up every morning and look out at the ice and search for animals. We know they are out there, so when you do see them, your heart almost flutters. Stay tuned for updates in numbers. And if you'd like any more information, try the National Marine Mammal Laboratory website. It's where I get my best information.
 
warmly,
 
Maggie Prevenas