September 11th - Humpback whales Kappa and calf

On September 11th, after a bit of a search, we located a humpback whale and her calf travelling off of Galiano Island in the Strait of Georgia. This mother was identified by her dorsal fin and fluke as Kappa (BCX0158) in the Keta Coastal Conservation humpback whale catalogue (www.ketacoastalconservation.org).

These two have had a busy summer filter feeding in our rich waters and at this point have put on a nice blubber layer. This blubber layer will protect and feed them over the winter months when they are fasting down south. Humpback whales make an incredible migration twice a year; once in the spring when they travel north to our waters and then again in the fall when they head south to the tropical waters of Mexico or Hawaii.

Kappa has done a great job at teaching her calf how to survive in harsh and varying conditions, as well as protecting her calf from from predators. The coastal waters of BC are full of transient killer whales, who sometimes prey on humpback whale calves!

This calf is extremely interesting due to it’s unusual skin condition. While we are not yet certain what is causing these white spots all over it’s back, we suspect it may be the whale equivalent to acne and the calf should out grow it with time.

We hope these two have a safe migration and we hope to spot Kappa’s calf again next season!

Here are some of the best photos taken on the tours by the marine naturalists.