The Adnostic

I would occasionally see wildlife in LA. Probably the most exotic was a hawk, a coyote, or a deer. I think you're more likely to see celebrities than fauna in that town.

Here in Vancouver we get a completely different set of urban wildlife, even among the glass skyscrapers that my husband and I live in. A few weeks ago I saw a raccoon scurry across Nelson Street, but you see those all the time in Stanley Park and they're even known to get pretty brave if you're patient enough.

The other day we were taking a walk around Crab Park along the East side of the downtown peninsula and we saw a wild brown ferret jumping in and out of the rocks near the ferry terminal. We followed it down the bank and he paused to give us a quick look and then continued on his way.

As we walked further toward Canada Place we saw a leopard seal doing his aquatic acrobatics. Every so often he would pause and look at us with those onyx eyes to make sure we were still watching and then continue his swimming routine. That was a neat day.

But nothing prepared us for the day that the entire city went berserk over a gray whale that had found its way into False Creek which runs along the Western side of the downtown peninsula near our apartment. There is no other way to put it, the town went ape-sh*t. Mentions of the whale were all over twitter, but pictures and video were slow to surface.

Dave couldn't stand it anymore so we hopped on our bikes and rode down to the last place it was spotted to try to see it for ourselves. We stood there with about twenty other people and waited for the elusive gray whale to show itself. After about twenty minutes of twiddling our thumbs, Dave asked one of the water taxi drivers if he knew where it was, apparently it hanging out at the other end near the science museum so we got back on or bikes and headed over.

There were people on every railing and bridge trying to get a glimpse of the whale. Lots of locals had broken out their kayaks and were eagerly trying to get up close and personal with the large mammal and the Coast Guard was doing its best to prevent such an occurrence. Helicopters buzzed overhead to get footage for the local media. Only high speed police chases get that kind of coverage where I come from.

We found an unoccupied bit of rocky shore to claim as our viewing territory and waited. We didn't see much. Maybe a couple spouts and a breech here and there, but there was one breech that happened very close to where we were standing and that made it all worth it.

Here is a video that gives you a much better view than we ever got:

The one on CTV BC is even better.