April 11th - T-Party near Nanaimo!

April 11th was a beautiful day out in the water and we were lucky enough to find Killer Whales at Neck Point! We had a T-party at Neck Point as we found the T23’s, T65 (Whidbey II) , T63 (Chainsaw), the T65B’s, the T90’s, the T99’s and the T124A2’s there. Transient Killer Whale pods can join up like this to hunt together and socialize. It also gives the opportunity for a male and female of different pods to mate.

When Transient Killer Whale pods are travelling together, they can be quite active on the surface. We saw these killer whales do quite a few tail slaps and breaches. The reason that whales breach is still unknown but since they do it when they’re in groups, it’s thought to be a type of non-verbal signalling behaviour. Another theory is that they breach just for the fun of it!

After spending about an hour with them, we set back out and found some harbour seals and Steller Sea lions. Check out the pictures our marine naturalist Beka took below!

Chainsaw (T063) has a really distinct dorsal fin, making him easy to identify.

Piglet (T90B) swimming along.

Huge T-party!!

A male whale is looking to mate.

Steller Sea Lions at Entrance Island.

We are able to ID Killer Whales by their dorsal fins and saddle patches. This one in the front is Piglet (T90B).

A little peek at the camera by this huge male Steller Sea Lion.

Harbour Seals chilling in the sun.