November 23, 2014. Nature PEI Meeting Notice

On Tuesday evening, December 2nd, Chuck Gallison will be the featured speaker as the Nature PEI monthly meeting. The title of his presentation is “Whales in the Waters of Prince Edward Island.” Chuck Gallison is a Wildlife Officer with the provincial Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division.

This is a great opportunity to learn about whales that occur in the local marine environment. Chuck has a long standing interest in marine mammals which include whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals. He is the Island’s representative on the the Marine Animal Response Society. The Society is a Maritime Provinces charitable organization dedicated to marine mammal conservation through rescue, education and research. With others Mr. Gallison works to free whales, porpoises and dolphins that have become stranded in shallow water or on beaches. A recent project was the work to rescue nine pilot whales which were stranded off Muddy Creek this summer.

Mr. Gallison also describes himself as “the government’s mortician for marine mammals.” He liaises with staff from the Atlantic Veterinary College to investigate dead marine mammals to find out what caused their deaths. “I became interested in whales when I was in grade six” said Mr. Gallison. “I watched a television special program on whales that was done by Jacques Cousteau, and I was hooked.” Chuck started working on marine mammals in 1991 as part of his employment with the provincial Department of Environment.

Reserve Tuesday, December 2nd at 7:30 PM to join the Nature PEI meeting in the Carriage House at Beaconsfield on the corner of West and Kent Streets in Charlottetown. Admission is free and all are welcome. 

For more information contact: Rosemary Curley at (902)569-1209 rcurleypei@eastlink.ca or Chuck Gallison at (902)368-5275 cegallison@gov.pe.ca