June 23rd - Huge T-Party by the Steveston Jetty!

On the 23rd we located the T99’s (T99/Bella, T99B/Holly, T99C/Barakat, T99D) during our morning tour near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. The pod of four was seen travelling along into the Strait of Georgia before stopping to mill around (socialize with each other).
During our evening tour, we found a giant T-party off of the Sturgeon Banks. Naturalists Val and Cheyenne guessed that there were between 15 and 20 whales on scene this evening…while that is already impressive, the actual number was even more astounding!
T124A’s (T124A/Kittiwake, T124A1/Bonaparte, T124A2/Elkugu, T1242A/Agafia, T124A3/Wasini, T124A4/Sabio), T86A1 (Nahanni), T36A’s (T36A/Leland, T36A1/ Tierna, T36A2/Kailas, T36A3/ Mike III), T36B’s (T36B/Tattertip, T36B1/Bhotia, T36B2/Greenfelder), T99’s (T99/Bella, T99B/Holly, T99C/Barakat, T99D), T46’s (T46/Wake, T46D, T46E, T46F, T122/ Centeki), T65A’s (T65A/Fingers, T65A2/Ooxjaa, T66A3/Amira, T65A4/Ellifrit, T65A5/Elsie) and T124C (Cooper) were all present.
That is 29 different whales during one tour! WOAH!

Whale pile! 5 in one photo. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster (3:30).

While it was amazing to see 29 different whales on scene at the same time, photographing them proved to be quite the challenge. Cascadia (one of our boats) ended up with whales in a semi-circle around it as we watched the pods mingle. Surprisingly, our Transient friends were being super vocal this evening! Transient orcas rarely vocalize (unlike their Southern Resident cousins), so hearing them talk was awesome! The pods were very active; we witnessed lots of spyhops, tail slaps, and breaches this afternoon. We also witnessed an interesting behaviour where one whale was tail slapping repeatedly back to back; it is believed that matriarchs of pods do this to get the attention of her particular pod, or to get the attention of a pod that is further away. It is a behaviour that we humans are still learning about!

T99’s. By Val Watson (10:30).

T99’s. Photo by Val Watson (10:30).

T99B/Holly on the left, T99C/Barakat on the right. Photo by Val Watson (10:30).

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster (3:30).

Cruising along. Photo By Cheyenne Brewster (3:30).

Want your own chance to see these beautiful creatures? Call us today at (250) 667-5177 to book over the phone, or continue on our website to book online! Happy travels!