Rare dolphins spotted off B.C. coast, researchers say warmer waters may be to blame

Marine life enthusiasts in British Columbia are buzzing after an "extraordinarily rare" sighting of two long-beaked common dolphins off the coast of Vancouver Island. These dolphins are usually found much further south, with sightings north of California considered unique.

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So long-beaked common dolphins are extraordinarily rare for British Columbian waters.

Jackie Hildering, a whale researcher with the Marine Education and Research Society, explained that while Pacific white-sided dolphins are common in B.C. waters, the long-beaked common dolphins are seldom seen. She noted that one of the juvenile dolphins exhibited unusual behavior, rapidly surfacing and tail-slapping.

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Any sightings north of California are pretty unique. And specifically Point Conception in California.

Hildering theorizes that warmer waters, linked to the current El Niño year and potentially amplified by climate change, are likely responsible for drawing these temperate-water species further north. This phenomenon could lead to more such unusual sightings.

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What it was doing, the juvenile on the West Coast was incredibly rapidly surfacing and also tail-slapping like crazy, like actually like doing a headstand and slapping and slapping and slapping.

The dolphin encounter is the second rare marine animal event in the area recently. Last month, whale watchers spotted a fin whale, the second-largest whale species, off Vancouver Island. Fin whales are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

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They really are incidental to British Columbian waters. There are very, very few known sightings. And it seems to be that with warmer water related to El Niño, likely exacerbated by climate change, that there is the likelihood of more sightings.