August 8th 10:30 - Anvil, Fader and Smiley hanging out off Valdes Island

It was another amazing trip out on the water when we found 3 humpback whales travelling together in the Strait of Georgia near Valdes Island! These three humpbacks were BCY0195 Fader, KEZ0002 Anvil, and KEY0019 Smiley. Anvil and Smiley are confirmed female humpbacks while Faders gender is unknown. these three whales have been travelling together for the past few days and Anvil and smiley have been seen together since this day. There are some theories on why humpback whales may be travelling together while they are spending time in the Salish sea. Some people think it may be due to them doing cooperative feeding where the multiple whales are more successful feeding together than either of them would be on their own. Another theory being developed is that pregnant females may travel together. This idea is still in the early stages but it will be interesting to see if these humpbacks will show up next year with calves in tow! Until more research is done we will just have to keep speculating and enjoying the show!

After we left Anvil, Smiley, and Fader we headed north to the south side of Gabriola Island where we found a group of Steller’s sea lions hauled out on a navigational buoy. We watched two in the water trying to join their buddies up on the buoy, much to the dismay of the sea lions who already had their spot. These animals can be pretty territorial so another one joining the buoy usually isn’t welcomed right away. We also saw some harbour seals and some cormorants during our trip. Below are some of the amazing photos from the day taken by our marine naturalists Brad and Val!

Anvil (left) and Smiley (right) going down for a dive! Photo by Brad.

The top side of Smiley’s fluke. Photo by Val.

Jilann LechnerAugust 12, 2021Comment