October 7th - Humpback whales KEX0022 (Corona) and BCZ0312

We had a lovely day with a couple of humpback whales near the Sunshine Coast on Thursday October 7th. Our boats Cascadia and Kula left Nanaimo Harbour at noon and went out adventuring into the Strait of Georgia. Before finding whales we spent some time watching the giant Steller sea lions climb around on small rocky islands that were also covered in cormorants and seagulls.

We encountered a humpback whale named “Corona” (KEX0022) who was nicely fluking for our boat Kula. We see this whale regularly in the Salish Sea and its unique fluke print can be matched up in Keta Coastal Conservation’s free humpback whale ID catalogue. (http://www.ketacoastalconservation.org/keta-catalogue-the-salish-sea). Keta is a local non-profit that researches the recovery of the local humpback population. Every time one of our whale watching tours encounters a humpback the naturalist records where, when, who, etc., and contributes this data to Keta’s research!

Both vessels also encountered a new whale, which is always exciting! This whale had very contrasting patterns on its fluke and a jagged trailing edge. Both naturalists managed to get great fluke shots and within the community of whale watchers we were able to ID this whale as BCZ0312.

Here are some of the best photos taken during the tour by marine naturalists Beka Pirker and Cheyenne Brewster.

King of the castle! Photo by Beka Pirker

Jilann LechnerOctober 11, 2021Comment