Stranded orca saved by volunteers

At Hartley Bay on the north coast of BC, an orca stranded on the rocks was kept alive for eight hours by a team of whale researchers and volunteers.  From the CBC July 24 2015:

Early Wednesday morning, the group received a call from a colleague about the beached orca, which was stuck on some rocks at low tide.

"We decided the best thing to do would be to keep her cool, that meant to put water on her body and we used blankets and sheets," said Hermann Meuter, a co-founder of Cetacean Lab.

"It was the only thing we could do."

Meuter said they could see the orca's behaviour change as they began to help her.

"At first she was stressed, you could see that her breathing was getting a little faster," said Meuter.

But after about 15 to 20 minutes, she began to calm down.

"I think she knew that we were there to help her," said Meuter.

Around 4 p.m. PT, the tide began to rise and the orca was able to start freeing herself.

"It took her about 45 minutes to negotiate how best to get off the rocks," said Meuter. "We all just kept our distance at that point."

When she swam away, the orca was quickly reunited with her pod, which was nearby.

(CBC July 23 2015)

That's one lucky whale.  People in the comments are arguing about the morality and wisdom of either saving whales or not saving them.  My brother says he would have helped but a lot of people are saying it's a dumb idea.  Canadians are the weirdest sometimes.

The transient orca was spotted beached on the rocks near Hartley Bay on B.C.'s northern coast on Wednesday. (Whale Point/Facebook)

Volunteers wet towels and blankets in order to keep the orca cool and wet. Courtesy of Whale Point/Facebook

Pot Plants Found Growing In Canadian Cities

A pot plant (some sources report there was more than one) was spotted growing among other plants in a Vancouver traffic circle near Ontario St. and 19th Avenue.

At least one of the neighbours was in favour of it:

"Someone's bound to throw seeds in one of these places," said nearby resident Eric Lamond, one of several people on the scene Monday, who smelled the plant and inspected its buds.

He said he's noticed other marijuana plants growing in similar traffic circles in the area.

"I love it," he told CBC News. "It's beautiful, it's a beautiful plant, we should all be enjoying it right? It's nature." (CBC July 20th 2015)

 The plant was gone a day later, but it turned out to have been "legal and harmless" as it was a male cannabis plant:

Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham said the plant was removed for analysis and found to be a male cannabis plant, which produces little to no THC, the chemical responsible for marijuana's psychological effects.

Fincham added it's unlikely police will find the person who planted the seeds. (Huffington Post July 23 2015)

If the plant was female, it would be illegal and would have to be destroyed. Police found the plant was male, which means it is just a (totally legal) hemp plant and the other marijuana plants in the traffic circle can remain. Toronto Star July 21 2015)

 It's likely the seeds were planted by marijuana activists:

Dana Larsen, a marijuana reform activist from Vancouver, said he’s tried to plant seeds a number of times, but the plants usually get destroyed.

“Normally, they get spotted by someone before they get so large,” Larsen said. He suspected the plant was grown from a clone or cutting in order to give it a head start.

Larsen said people plant marijuana in public spaces because they believe it should be legal, and like to see it thrive alongside other vegetation.

“If you put it in your backyard, you can get arrested. If you put it in a public space, everyone can enjoy it,” he said. (Toronto Star July 21 2015)

 This isn't unusual for Canada.  A week before, pot plants were found growing in public planters in Swift Current, Saskatchewan:

Swift Current RCMP found a different and unusual kind vegetation in one of the city's planters. Officers were called to the 200 and 300 block of Central Avenue North on Monday. They found several marijuana plants growing amongst other flowers, turning the plant holders into pot holders. 

"Somebody ... dropped some seeds; that would be the most logical reason," said Swift Current RCMP Staff Sergeant Gary Hodges.

"We have no idea of who was responsible for it."

RCMP officers have removed and destroyed the plant.  It is not known how long the marijuana plants have been growing before being detected. They have since been removed and thrown out.

Hodges also noted it was a type of plant which has a lower THC level than what would be found in medicinal marijuana.  (CBC July 17 2015)

The plants were certainly very pretty: