My Porpoise In Life

So let me start off by saying that I never thought I would even see a harbor porpoise in real life, let alone have the opportunity to help rehabilitate three. Honestly, harbor porpoises weren't really even on my radar. I knew of them, I thought they were cute, but that was about it. Now though, I have a deep fondness and passion and respect for the species.

Daisy and her precious noodles.

The first was Daisy. My first shift started with her in September, 2008. It was instant love. She spent a lot of time puttering around in a sling that was made just for her, to help support her in the water while she was too weak to swim. Once she was strong enough, she seemed to develop a love for pool noodles. She'd push them around on her little head. I remember having to make sure that they didn't cover her blow-hole. I took the noodle off once, and pushed it away from her....Daisy promptly picked up the noodle on her head and swam back to me. I'm convinced she thought she was a dog...

Daisy even inspired me to get a tattoo, my second one. Porpoise flukes splashing out from some waves, with of course, a daisy in the background.

Daisy coming over to say 'hello!'.

In July 2009, she was deemed non-releasable by the Canadian government, and was transferred to the Vancouver Aquarium. In my opinion, they made the right decision (I apply this thought to Jack as well.) She was too dependent on humans, and having stranded at such a very young age, she had next to none of the skills necessary to survive in the wild. She's thriving now, and (pardon my anthromorphism), she seems pretty darned content. She seems in enjoy the visitors that come to see her, as well as her new companion, Jack. 

Learn more about Daisy here.




Siyay was the second harbor porpoise that I met. A little older than Daisy. "Sub-adult" they called him. I had one, maybe two shifts with him in May, 2011. He was rescued on April 26, 2011. Unfortunately, this handsome boy didn't survive...He would seem to get better, then something would get worse. It was up and down a lot...

Siyay, Unknown Source. Credit goes to the photographer, not myself. 

The cause of death ended up being a terrestrial parasite called "protozoan endephalitus", something in his brain that I don't think ever could have been detected. I hope that he last days were as comfortable as they could have been....he was certainly surrounded by people that loved him. I'm sorry we couldn't help you, Siyay.


Official photos of Siyay.
More information about his rescue here and his death here.

A typical 'Jack' greeting. 

Jack was the third, and latest porpoise that I was able to work with, my first shift starting in October 2011. When I say 'work with', by the way, I mean monitoring respiration-rate, assisting with feeding, watching for strange behavior, and more or less babysitting.  Jack was a lot different from Daisy...similar to boys vs, girls, I suppose. While Daisy liked playing with her toys, Jack was more outgoing and "Hey, look at me!".  He liked to spyhop (he still does), and like Daisy, he also seemed to enjoy retrieving his toys and bringing them back.

This is typically what you'll see now when you visit the "Sugar Seal Pool".
You can tell it's Jack by the long white scar in front of his dorsal fin. 

In May 2012 (I think...honestly can't remember exactly when), Jack made his debut at the Vancouver Aquarium. Sharing a habitat with Daisy, and being as social as ever. Jack seems to absolutely love any visitors that come to see him, spending most of his day at the viewing window. (It's hard to leave him, when you know he'll be there, watching you walk away. I wonder if he thinks to himself, "Why are they leaving? What did I do?".) He's a people-pleaser, that's for sure. Their habitat is not a main attraction, but I implore anyone visiting the Vancouver Aquarium to go and visit the harbor porpoises. No, not the "baby dolphins". They are very different. There is plenty of signage to tell you exactly who, and what they are. Daisy now has things on her mind other than visitors, quite often, so it is like Jack that will be the first to come and say hi.

Learn more about Jack here.

Sometimes, you get both, and everything becomes the cutest thing you've ever seen.