Orca expert Joha Ford to talk in N. Van Michael Becker News Editor michael@nsnews.com JOHN Ford has a whale of a tale to share. The director of marine mammal research at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre and adjunct professor at UBC is regarded among the world’s top authorities on killer whales (orcas). Ford grew up on the North Shore and presently lives at Woodlands on the shore of Indian Arm. On Thursday, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., he offers a public session as part of the Capilano College Continuing Education science lecture scenes. He will provide an update on B.C.’s whale species, their natural history and hope for the future. Call Continuing Education at 984- 4901 to register. On Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver, Ford will share his discoveries on killer whales. The presentation, which features photographs and underwater sound recordings, is sponsored by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Reserved seating tickets are avail- able by calling the box office at 984-4484. Tickets will also be available at the door. Ford's 20-plus years spent studying whales has not been limit- ed to distant waters. “Over the years we've had a number of different species of harbour off the North Shore and even as far up here in Indian Arm,” he said. There are two different types of killer whales on the West Coast esidents and transients. The residents are salmon-hunting spe- cialists. They live in large groups and are the focus of the whale- watching industry. “Only once have I seen a resident group (20 whales) come in (to North Shore waters) and it came in under the Lions Gate Bridge one February. | followed it in and it went up as far as the SeaBus lance, turned around and left. It was such a miserable rainy day that most people were never aware they came in,” he said. Other close local encounters with orcas have involved tran- Owen the snappy seal OWEN, the last seai released from the Vancouver Aquarium’s. summer rehabilitation program, wa dive for long periods of time. They travel a dong way under hev'll just come up and go putt, puff, puff and dive again for another seven to 10 minutes and they can be out of sight by then.” Meanwhile Ford said grey whales have been observed in Indian Arm on at feast pvo oceasions. In the spring of last ee came night in to Deep Cove, in front of the govern- ment dock. North Vancouver District Coun. Trevor Carolan saw the whale that day. He was doing his Tai Chi exercises one “spectacularly sunny” morning, at Panorama Park. “As Twas turning, I saw this movement out in the bay. At first 1 thought it was a seal. en to my left, I saw this big thing toward the distance. I thought, ‘Gee, we have a sea lion.” ” Moments later, just about 40 feet from the shore, Carolan’s sca lion turned into something quite different. “I saw this shiny, pinky, greyish blur. This thing just kept com- ing out. I was agape. It just photo John Ford (aboveYNEWS photo Jutle iverson THE cransient killer whales known as T61 travelled through Burrard inlet in April, 1994. John Ford studies the animats. sients. They are mammal hunters. Said Ford, “They never mix with the resi they feed only on warm-blooded prey — mo: seals, porpo rds, but never fish it seems.” The transients are nomadic and live in smaller groups. These whales are genetically different from the resident killer whales. The fin: shape tends to be more pointed on the tip, a fittle sharp- er. Transients associate with one another and typ- ically travel in groups ef three or four. “Usually it’s lone animals or groups of owo or three we here in Indian Arm. They are always moving and they’re always hoping to surprise unsuspecting seals. That’s their hunting, strate- gy. It’s one of stealth. Transients tend to turn up in odd places, like a Jong way up an inlet or in Vancouver harbeur,” said Ford, Indian Arm yields sufficient potential prey for transients. “There are hundreds of harbour seals at the head of Indian Aro, or even into Port Moody.” Cacetakers at Wigwam Inn have reported killer whales regular- ly to Ford over the years. came hea: out of the water and carried on,” Carolan said. He estimates the whale, which whipped dogs at the beach into a frenzy and attracted many amazed human onlookers, remained near Deep Cove to blow spouts and roll for about ar hour. Said Carolan, “It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The tail looked like the size of a Volkswagen.” Ford said Indian Arm is not partic- ularly froitful ground for feeding grey whales, but they still sometimes venture in for a look. About 25,000 of the whales migrate annually from Baja California to Alaska every year. Ford recalls tracking one grey in the Fraser River all the way up to New Westriinster. A humpback whale found its way into the Vancouver harbour in 1997. It was spotted by police aboard a harbour patrol boat. The whale came in to the harbour as far as the SeaBus lane. For a few years in the carly-1990s, a single false killer whale took up residence in the harbour. “It’s a little sub-tropical whaic, all black. It’s not normally found in this part of the world. He mostly fell in ove with the SeaBus and followed it back and forth,” “The thing about transients is that they are hard to spot. They ; j luctant to go it alone — he snapped at vol- unteer Steve Tordiffe just before swimming away from Ambleside Beach. NVD referendum may face court chall Seymour waterfront question called ambiguous Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com A vague refereadum question on North Vancouver District’s elec- tion ballot next month continues to cause con- troversy. The question involves the Deep Cove waterfront and a task force’s ongoing work to have more public access to the area in a 50-year plan. Deep Cove waterfront resi- dent Shayne Nyquvest called the referendum question a mother- heed question in which district taxpayers do not realize the cost of saying yes. Nyquvest took issue with a $53 million figure estimated to be spent by the municipality over the course of the plan to buy private property. Nyquvest said the figure is robably more than $109 mil- ion. The referendum question states: ;“Are you in favour, in incipis,: of the ~recommenda- tions on ways to increase public access to the — District’s Waterfront as described’ in the Waterfront Task Force Phase 2 Interim Report? (Bylaw 7130)” On Oct. 18, lawyer Jonathan Baker sent a letter to North Vancouver District asking the referendum question be reword- ed. Baker wrote the letter on behalf of Nyquvest and a loosely knit group of about 40 property owners. Wrote Baker, “Whether the public votes in the affirmative or negative, no conclusion can be reached about anything. The phrase, ‘give me ambiguity or give me something else’ seems to have inspired those who draft- ed the question’.” Baker stated the referendum questions does not meet Municipal Act requirements. He suggested a referendum: ques- tion should be asked only when a final waterfront task force report is done complete with “cost implications” to taxpayers. Baker said on Tuesday that he was waiting for a response to his letter. Nyquvest said the property owners will take court action to quash the referendum question or have it reworded. Meanwhile task force chair- man Maurcen Bragg said the ref- erendum question asked voters whether they agreed, in princi- ple, with a plan for the Deep Cove waterfront. | “Nothing is laid out in derail because this plan will cvolve over 50 years,” said Bragg. Bragg. said waterfront resi- dents will not lose their views or property in the plan. She said the plan does not interfere with views or private property usc. Bragg said that “ifand when” a waterfront areca owner decides to sell their property, North Vancouver District can make an offer “along with everyone else,” according to the. plan. ; “That is hardly a threat to anybody’s property,” said Bragg. - Bragg said community associ- ations as far away as Capilano Road were involved in the waterfront task force. She noted that every household in the dis- trict was sent the plan’s informa- tion. ; Mayor Don Bell together with Couns. Janice Harris and Lisa Muri opposed the wording of the referendum question at a Sep. 13 council meeting. *