July 1, 2024, 3:30 pm - Happy Canada Day from a T-party and a Couple of Humpbacks!
Today was a beautiful day to celebrate the birth of our nation with some iconic whales. Whether we were on land enjoying the people passing by decked out in Canadian flags or on the water with the whales, the party atmosphere was everywhere. On top of the great vibes, we were fortunate enough to experience a double species day! Our day started out with us making our way into the southern Gulf Islands for a T-Party! A T-Party is when multiple families of Biggs/Transient killer whales come together. This party consisted of the following whales.
T036 Flapjack ♀ (1970)♂
T036B Tattertip ♀ (1998)
T036B1 Nettle ♀ (2009)
T036B2 ♀ (2013)
T036B4 (2024)
T37A1 Inyo ♀ (2007)
T099 Bella ♀ (~1984)
T099B Holly ♀ (2007)
T099C Barakat ♂ (2009)
T099D Puck ♂ (2015)
T099E ♀ (2021)
T065A Artemis ♀ (1986)
T065A2 Ooxjaa ♂ (2004)
T065A3 Amir ♂ (2007)
T065A4 Ellifrit ♀ (2011)
T065B3 Indy ♂ (2014)
T065A6 Callisto ♀ (2018)
When multiple families come together in a T-Party it truly is a party! This is a time for socializing and often when we are treated to breaching, tail slapping and pec slapping. This was the case today where we had the privilege of watching the whales socialize with one another. It’s always interesting to see which whales decide to hang out together and we had a few notable attendees. Flapjack was experiencing a miniature family reunion. She typically travels with her youngest daughter Tattertip and Tatterip’s children, but she has 3 older daughters as well who are all successful matriarchs of their own. Bella is one of those daughters and we have to wonder if Flapjack is like any doting Grandmother when she sees her grandchildren.
Bella has another strong connection in this party. Artemis and Bella are often seen in each other’s company and seem to be great friends. These 2 incredible matriarchs are some of the only orcas in the Salish Sea that are known to have taken down a Minke whale, and of course, they did it together. Well, they mostly travel separately it is very interesting to note that on Canada Day of 2023 these 2 families were together just outside of Nanaimo. That means 2 years in a row they have been partying together close by!
While Flapjack has 4 incredibly successful daughters, Artemis also comes from a very prominent family. Her mother Whidbey travels with her famous brother Chainsaw who was named for his distinctive dorsal fin notches. Chainsaw isn’t the only famous family member though as of late her son Indy is seeing his star rise. Typically male orcas stay with their mom their entire lives but at only 10 years old Indy tends to travel alone and has done this for years. A 10-year-old orca is developmentally similar to a 10-year-old human child so it’s impressive that he has been able to keep himself well fed and healthy. We like to say he is very “Indy-pendant”
The fun didn’t stop at the orca, we made this a double species tour when each of our boats was able to find a humpback. Bother seemed to be feeding. Beak BCX1606 was feeding below the water while Ocular BCX1705 was displaying a behaviour called “lunge feeding”. This is where they lunge partially out of the water at their prey engulfing them in their expanding throat!
We also got to hang out with seals, sea lions, bald eagles and the cherry on the top of the Canada Day cake was seeing some Canadian geese as we pulled into the harbour.
The photos from this spectacular trip were taken by the onboard Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Desarae Poier, and can all be viewed below!
T036 Flapjack, T065A3 Amira, T065A6 Callisto, and T065A5 Indy surfacing together. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A mini breach from one of the orca during the party. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A big tail slap from one of the Orca. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Tail Slap! Photo Aly Kohlman.
T036B4 surfacing in the party! Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A Artemis does a big tail slap! Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A1 Ooxjaa and T099D Puck together with Puck doing a tail slap. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A nice upside down tail slap from one of the whales. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A nice big upside down tail slap from one of the orca and another swimming right below the surface in front of them. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A very tattered pectoral fin. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A6 Callisto doing a tail flick. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T036B Tattertip and her new calf, T036B4! Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A5 Indy playing with some seaweed. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A4 Ellifrit showing her entire length. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A1 Ooxjaa surfacing. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Likely T065A1 Ooxjaa doing a cartwheel. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Can you spot the “sea snake” in this photo? Photo Aly Kohlman.
T037A1 Inyo surfacing beside T036B4. Photo Aly Kohlman.
This little whale is missing part of their tail fluke. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T099B Holly rubbing faces with another. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A6 Callisto spy hopping. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T036B1, with another’s tail, T065A4 Ellifrit, and T036B3 Chip! Photo Aly Kohlman.
T036B1 Bhotia and T065A1 Ooxjaa surfacing next to each other. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A big tail lob from someone with T065A4 Ellifrit surfacing behind. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A3 Amira surfacing beside T065A Artemis. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A big tail slap with T065A6 Callisto slightly behind. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A tiny tail (likely T036B4) with T065A5 surfacing behind. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T036 Flapjack, T065A Artemis, and T099 Bella all together. They are all the matriarchs of these pods! Photo Aly Kohlman.
A tiny baby cartwheel from T036B4. Photo Aly Kohlman.
One of the young males (maybe T099C Barakat?) lifting their tail from the water. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T037A1 Inyo in the back, with T065A5 spy hopping and T065A Artemis surfacing behind. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T099B Holly in the lead followed by a little breach from a younger whale. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Touchdown! Photo Aly Kohlman.
Little T036B4 breaching. Photo Aly Kohlman.
T065A1 Ooxjaa in the background with T065A Artemis and T036B1 Bhotia. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A pair of tail lobs from the orca, one right-side-up and one upside-down. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A close encounter with T065A4 Ellifirit. Photo by Des Poier.
T099C Barakat surfacing. Photo by Des Poier.
T099C Barakat with a little tail in front. Photo by Des Poier.
T065A1 Ooxjaa. Photo by Des Poier.
A cuddle puddle with T099 Bella, T065A Artemis, and T099E. Photo by Des Poier.
Can you see all 9 orca in the photo? Photo by Des Poier.
T099C Barakat surfacing. Photo by Des Poier.
T099C Barakat surfacing behind T036B2 Greenfelder. Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Beak’s tail. Photo Aly Kohlman.
The underside of Ocular’s tail flukes as he dives. Photo by Des Poier.
Ocular surfacing with Vancouver in the background. Photo by Des Poier.
Ocular coming to the surface with a big mouthful of Krill. Photo by Des Poier.
Completion of the lunge feed by Ocular. See the barnacles on his chin? Photo by Des Poier.
Th gnarly scars left from Ocular’s entanglement. Photo by Des Poier.
Beak coming at ya! Photo Aly Kohlman.
Beak lifting his tail for a dive. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A large Male Steller Sea Lion yelling on Stinky rocks. Photo by Des Poier.
Drinking in the sunshine! Photo Aly Kohlman.
A pair of Bald Eagles enjoying the rocky perch. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Big Yawn! Photo Aly Kohlman.
Harbour Seals on the rocks. Photo Aly Kohlman.
An adult bald eagle keeping an eye on us. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Look at the size of the talons on the Bald Eagle! Photo Aly Kohlman.
Takeoff! This bald eagle spreads its wings to fly off for some fish. Photo Aly Kohlman.
A pigeon guillemot with todays catch. Photo Aly Kohlman.
Canada Geese on Canada Day! Photo Aly Kohlman.
A very happy open boat at the end of the day! Photo Aly Kohlman.