August 31st - T100's off Bowen Island, lone Humpback at Entrance Island!

It was a beautiful calm day when our open boat Cascadia left the dock at 1pm to search for whales. After less than an hour we located a shy lone humpback whale just north of Entrance Island. This whale was traveling and not showing off its fluke, so we left it and headed east to see some killer whales that another company had found.

The T100s, a pod of 4 transient killer whales, were traveling near Bowen Island. Killer whales can travel over 100km in a day so we never know where or if we are going to find them. We don’t have trackers on any of the whales and every morning/afternoon is a fresh start. We are very fortunate to be part of such a great whale watching community where we can help each other out with sightings!

This pod has been seen several times over the past few weeks in places like Sechelt and near Porlier Pass. Transient killer whales hunt for marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, porpoises, dolphins, and even occasionally other whales. Our coastline is very unique with all of the beautiful little islands and estuarine waters; it’s the perfect habitat for transient killer whale prey!! So even though these whales can be tricky to find, we know they are likely around somewhere because of the thriving ecosystem in our backyard.

After watching this family and starting the return trip to Nanaimo, we found another humpback whale! This whale we were able to identify as “Snoopy” (BCY0770) by its very unique fluke. Snoopy is missing a chunk out of its fluke on the right side and that missing bit is surrounded by a circle of white. Its one of the easiest whales to ID if we are lucky enough to get a fluke shot! The fluke is like the “fingerprint” of the humpback whale. All of the white and gray markings on the underside as well as the trailing edge help us to distinguish individuals. Head on over to www.ketacoastalconservation.org if you want to have a look at more flukes and pick out some differences on your own!

Here are some of the best photos taken during the tour by marine naturalist Ryan Uslu.

Laurel (Right; T100C) with his little sister T100F (left).

Jilann LechnerAugust 31, 2020Comment