June 28th was an eventful day for our boats Kula and Cascadia. Both of our boats headed north in search of whales. Kula first found a surprise Grey Whale near Blueback beach! It took a second but we were able to tell this was a Grey Whale from the lack of a dorsal fin and the 6 to 12 “knuckles” they have on their hump and tail. Grey Whales are benthic feeders as they swim up on their side and suck up small invertebrates from the sediment. We rarely see Grey Whales on our tours up north here so this was a cool sight for our guests.

The “knuckles” of a Grey Whale. Photo by Ryan Uslu.

Meanwhile, our other boat Cascadia found a humpback whale who was kelping near Neck Point! Kelping occurs when a whale wallows themselves in kelp. There are a few theories on why humpbacks do this kelping behaviour. One of them is that they are showing playful behaviour by doing this. Another theory is that they use the kelp to remove the barnacles and parasites off their back and that they use the kelp almost like an exfoliant to rejuvenate the skin. They also might use it to stimulate their sensitive skin. Other than kelping, this humpback also did a few pec slaps and a spyhop!

Humpback at Neck Point kelping. Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

When Kula arrived some time later, our kelping humpback was asleep and logging. Logging is the state of when humpbacks are remaining motionless on the surface of the water, resembling a floating log. When humpbacks sleep, they only shut down half their brain while the other half stays awake for a low level of alertness. This way they can continue their conscious breathing and stay vigilant for predators. Later on they will switch to the other half of the brain to rest it.

A surprise dog appeared during our tour! Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

The sea lions didn’t seem amused by the presence of this dog. Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

Patiently waiting for the dog to leave their spot. Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

Both our boats spotted two other humpbacks which were identified to be Cirque and her calf. Cirque had her calf in the warm waters of where the humpbacks migrate from every year to come all the way to the Salish Sea here to feed. The waters here are rich in nutrients and phytoplankton which gives them lots of zooplankton to eat. Humpback moms are very tentative as they keep their calves as close to them as possible for as long as they stick with them. They usually nurse them from 6 months to about a year. Calves can also drink up to 158 gallons of milk a day which is equal to about 40 milk jugs a day!

Check out the other pictures our naturalists Rebeka and Ryan got below:

The beautiful fluke of Cirque. Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

Mom and calf coming up for air. Photo by Rebeka Pirker.

June 28th - 3 humpback whales and a grey whale!

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