Killer Whales Trapped in Hudson Bay: Canadian Government to Send Help

By Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Killer Whales Trapped in Hudson Bay Ice

AccuWeather reports a pod of around 12 whales, first spotted Wednesday, are confined to a small patch of open water slightly bigger than a pickup truck in Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada. Inukjuak is more than 900 miles north of Montreal.

Killer whales, being mammals, must breathe air. However, most of the area is now solidly covered in ice. Ice analysis shows at least 90 percent ice coverage throughout Hudson Bay and the Hudson Strait. The Hudson Strait links the bay to the open, ice-free Labrador Sea, roughly 700 miles away.

Canadian Government to Send An Icebreaker

According to a local resident interviewed by Reuters, it's unusual to see killer whales in the area in January, but the ice-over happened later than usual this year. Local residents have no means to help the orcas; they have asked the Canadian government to send an icebreaker.

The normal January high temperature for the area is 5 below zero F with a low around 18 below zero F. Temperatures locally will be somewhat above normal - still well below freezing - through about Monday, followed by somewhat colder-than-normal weather next week.

Update - The Whales Are Safe

In an amazing turnaround, the weather changed, the ice broke up, and the whales were able to get out to the open sea.

The Canadian government sent people to review the whales' situation. There were very few valid options, other than a change in the weather. The icebreakers were too far away to help, and there was about 12 miles of ice to break through. They said the noise of the icebreakers coming could have scared the whales away, to places where they could not reach the surface to breathe.

©2012 AccuWeather, Inc. All rights reserved.