May 9th - Another beautiful day on the water with the T18's

Another great day spent with the T18's in beautiful sunny, calm conditions! These 4 whales were seen by our boat yesterday and clearly enjoyed the Gulf Islands enough to stick around. Lucky for us!

Beautiufl weather, beautiful whales. May 9th was a great day to be on the water. Photo by Val Watson

Killer whales can travel up to 100km in a day, so every day is a fresh start for us on where they are located. Sometimes pods will not travel far overnight and we are lucky enough to see them the next day, other times the whales will swim completely out of our range overnight!

Females leading the pod around the Strait on May 9th. Photo by Val Watson

This is a great time of the year to search for transient (marine mammal hunting) killer whales. Not only do we have their main source of prey, harbour seals that live on our coast year round, but we also have growing populations of both California and Steller sea lions.

Brother T19C surfacing infront of beautiful snow-capped mountains. Photo by Val Watson

Sea lions are much larger than humans and have jaws very similar to that of a bears, so they most definitely put up a good fight when threatened! Their size and strength is intimidating, but still no match for an orca. Orcas hunt in their family pods so they have an advantage - strength in numbers. Together they can coordinate distractions and surprises skillfully enough to hopefully come away unscathed. 

All four whales surfacing together. Photo by Val Watson

Sea lions are migratory animals and in our area we see them on our spring and fall tours. If witnessing a sea lion kill is on your bucket list, book your trip soon before they all leave!

Another vessel full of excited onlookers! Photo by Val Watson