October 10th - A Double Species day in the Salish Sea

Every season of whale watching is different as different groups of whales decide to spend time in certain areas. Humpbacks can spend a few days up to a few months in one place before moving to different feeding area. Most Humpbacks show what is called Site Fidelity. This means they return to the same feeding grounds and breeding grounds year after year. We had a steady group of Humpbacks in the Salish Sea this summer, becoming familiar with many of the faces and knowing who to expect in different areas of the Strait of Georgia. Now that October is here and the whales are starting to think about their long journey to the breeding grounds, our northern humpbacks, that typically feed between Campbell River and Haida Gwaii, are starting to trickle through the Salish Sea, gathering in small groups with males often pairing up with females to escort them south. Today Wilkinson was doing just that, hanging out with Tempest and her calf as they dove and fed in the waters near Gabriola Island.

Wilkinson is a confirmed male who spends his winters in Hawaii and his summers are typically spent in northern BC near Haida Gwaii and Campbell River. Wilkinson has been in our area for a few days now and Tempest and her calf have been here for several weeks. It’s been great to get to watch so many baby Humpbacks growing up this summer and seeing how they change; not just physically but their personality as well.

Wilkinson, Tempest and her calf were doing some deep feeding dives today. This is very important as the calf will be weaning off mom’s milk soon, if they haven’t already started. This young whale needs to know how to forage before they head south, as they will soon leave moms side and be independent. This last month is a great time for mom to make sure their calf knows the foraging techniques so they are prepared come next feeding season.

Here are some photos of our Humpbacks from today.

Our favourite Orca duo is back at it. Noah (T49A1) and Jude (T49A2) are back to traveling without the family. Noah had made a brief trip home to the family a few weeks ago, but it looks like Jude isn’t ready to return home just yet, so Noah has returned to watch over his younger brother. Jude has been separate from his family for several months at this point. He was traveling with Noah in June, and then the 2 of them were joined by the T77 siblings. After breaking from those 2 they were joined by the T60 brothers and now they are back to traveling alone around the Gulf Islands.

Noah and Jude come from a large pod, with mom included there are 6 members of their family. Typically Bigg’s pods range from 2-6 individuals, though they can have more in some rare situations. Nan is Noah and Jude’s mom, and all of her children are male except the youngest. Male orcas rarely leave their mom’s side, but there are a few reasons they might choose to travel away from their family, whether temporary or permanently.

Jude is going through puberty, so it’s likely he’s traveling and looking for other females to try his hand at fathering offspring. He could also be feeling crowded by his siblings and may be taking some time away for himself. Or potentially, Jude might be deciding he likes the “lone wolf” life style. There are a few adult males in our region who travel alone, even though they have living family members. Why they choose to do this is unknown, but the lone males seem to do well for themselves. The term “lone male” is also slightly miss leading, as they are rarely actually alone. They often travel with other lone whales, young males like Jude, or smaller pods that are passing through the area. Because Bigg’s orcas are not territorial with each other, when a lone male, or in this case Jude and Noah, feel like traveling with other whales but don’t want to travel with family, they usually pair up with smaller pods or other lone travellers to form make shift pods, as we’ve seen often this summer.
Noah seems to be traveling with Jude on this adventure to keep an eye on him, as he has returned to his family at least once during Jude’s absence Perhaps Nan has sent Noah out to watch over him, as a worried mother. Or perhaps Noah is taking his roll as “big brother” seriously and trying to teach his younger brother all about being a bull orca in the Salish Sea.

Below are the photos of our orcas from todays tour, as well as the other wildlife seen on the trip. All photos today were taken by marine naturalist Rebecca Stirling.

Double fluking!

Jude (left) and Noah (right).

Sitting next to Noah Jude looks so small. Judes fin will continue to grow quickly for the next 6 years, and will end up just as big as his brothers fin by the time he’s 20 years old.