July 5th - A double species tour with Bigg's orca and humpback whales!

Kula and Cascadia left the dock at 3:30pm on July 5th and encountered humpback whales in the Strait of Georgia, near Valdes and Gabriola Island.

Our crew were happy to identify an adult female named “Slate” (BCX1210) with her calf. We spent quite a bit of time with these two in May and the beginning of June, so it’s great to have them back in the area. Traveling with them was another well known local, humpback whale “Snoopy” (BCY0770), who has a dogface-like marking on the fluke - see if you can find it! The most obvious thing about this whale’s fluke is the large split on the right side that is surrounded by a white circle.

While on scene we watched them mill about, lift up their flukes before some big dives, show off their large pecs with some waves, and we even saw a breach! We never know when a breach is going to happy but we certainly love it when it does!

After the humpback whales we toured around looking for other wildlife such as harbour seals resting on the rocky shoreline, a sea lion taking an uncomfortable looking snooze on a buoy, and cormorants at the nearby rookery. We were not expecting to encounter a pod of orcas but alas, we did!

Just south of Dodd Narrows were the T090s, a family of 4. We followed these traveling whales through the narrows and then through Northumberland Channel towards Nanaimo. The matriarch of the group is T090 “Eagle”, born in 1980. She travels with her three surviving offspring, T090B “Piglet”, T090C “Tigger”, and T090D “Kanga”. Piglet is the eldest, born in 2006, and his large dorsal fin is the easiest to spot from far away!

It was lovely to have so many whales around so close to home. Here are the best photos taken that day by marine naturalist Brad Farrow. If you want to join us for a tour we are departing from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, every day at both 10:30am and 3:30pm!

Humpback whale “Snoopy”. Photo by Brad Farrow

Humpback whale “Slate”. Photo by Brad Farrow

This can’t be comfortable! Photo by Brad Farrow

Jilann LechnerJuly 8, 2021Comment