JOHNSTONE STRAIT KILLER WHALE INTERPRETIVE CENTRE SOCIETY
TELEGRAPH COVE, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Dr. Michael Bigg, the "father of killer whale research", was head of the Marine Mammal Research Program in British Columbia. Dr. Bigg chaired the Johnstone Strait Killer Whale Research Committee, out of which our society was born.

It is because of Dr. Bigg's photo identification work with killer whales that we now recognize them as individuals, with a natural history as complex and diverse as our own. This legacy of photo identification allows us to see killer whales as individuals and it is only by seeing marine mammals in this way that we can gain an understanding of their life histories. The story these ambassadors of the ocean tell serves as an indicator of the health of other marine mammals and the waters we share with them.

It is testament to the importance of this work that we are here.

"I have a personal commitment to raise the level of public awareness as to just how much people, when stripped of their technology, have in common with other life forms on earth. Such recognition is needed to develop empathy for their plight and so ensure coexistence and respect for them."
Dr. Michael Bigg