August 31st - Humpbacks breaching and orcas throwing their food around, what a day!

August 31st was another day jam packed with whales! Both Cascadia and Keta took off at 10:30am and were successful in finding not only transient killer whales, but also harbour porpoises and humpback whales!

Raptor and another humpback whale, likely Heather, were really easy to spot in the Strait of Georgia because.... they were breaching! It is still a mystery as to why humpback whales, or any whales, breach. Some theories are that it helps to shed dead skin and parasites such as barnacles and worms, it could also be to make a loud noise to communicate with other whales or affect schooling fish. Another reason could be that it's fun and feels good!

Our boats pushed on towards Howe Sound where they encountered the T37A's near Bowen Island. These whales were very active, breaching, slapping their tails - it is likely that a kill went down!

In the afternoon both boats returned to the T37A's in the northern part of the Strait of Georgia. We watched these 4 whales travel for about an hour in stunning conditions, surrounded by nothing but ocean and mountains. This family was hunting a sea lion and our naturalist was quick enough to get some shots of them throwing it around! Here are some more of our best photos taken by crew:

An orca tossing around a sea lion! Photo by Val Watson

Playing with their food? Photo by Val Watson

Look closely, the whale's mouth is open! Photo by Val Watson

Jilann LechnerAugust 31, 20181 Comment