September 13th - Orcas in the Sound and Humpback near Nanaimo!
On Friday the 13th we headed out on another search for whales. It wasn't long before we got word that their were some Orca traveling North into Howe Sound near Vancouver. Our boats journeyed across the Strait of Georgia and found 4 beautiful orcas swimming into the sound.
It didn't take long to figure out we were watching the T101’s. This pod is very distinct, in that it is made of 4 whales, Reef (T101), Beardslee (T102), Rush (T101A), and Lagoon (T101B). Reef is about 40 years old and travels with her 3 boys, Beardslee is the oldest son at about 35 years old, Rush is only 26 and Lagoon is 22. This whole pod proudly sports near perfect dorsal fins, making Rush and Lagoon very hard to tell apart from a distance. The only way to truly ID them is to match up eye patch or scaring on their saddle patch. Beardslee is a little more distinct, in that his dorsal is the largest and the tip is curved, giving his dorsal a flat-top appearance, and of course momma reef is the smallest dorsal in the pod.
These 3 were actively hunting as they entered Howe Sound, making their way around Passage Island before cruising the mainland coast. We believe they managed to catch a seal, but there was only a brief display of success, as Reef game us a tail slap and a brief head bob as she swam backwards. Then they continued on looking for their next meal. This pod has to consume between 1000 and 1400 lbs of food a day, 250-350 lbs each! Thats 6-10 harbour seals per day.
On the way home we spotted Mantis (BCX0936) Right outside the Nanaimo Harbour doing deep feeding dives. It made it hard to keep track of him, but he eventually fluked for us before we had to head back to harbour.
Below are some of the beautiful photos of our whales and the scenery our naturalists got yesterday.
Reef (T101) and her son Beardslee (T102). Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Rush or Lagoon. It’s so hard to tell with those boys! Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Beautiful photo of the clouds in Howe Sound. Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Clouds rising through the trees in Howe Sound. Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Reef cruising through Howe Sound. Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Beardslee following Reef through the Sound. Photo by Natalie Reichenbacher (10.30)
Beardslee (left) and one of his brothers. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (10.30)
Beardslee. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (10.30)
Tail Slap from momma Reef! photo by Rebeka Pirker (10.30)
Reef checking out the surroundings. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (10.30)
Mantis - BCX0936. Photo by Rebeka Pirker
Mantis fluking for the camera. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (10.30)
We have daily trips at 12 pm starting September 16th. Call now 250-667-5177 to book your trip, or book through our website.
We guarantee you’ll see a whale, or you get your next trip for free!