August 29th 3:30 - Fader, 77C, and 77D in the Strait

This afternoon we located a speedy humpback out in the Strait of Georgia. Fader (the name of this humpback) was travelling roughly 5 knots when we visited them - this is nearly double the speed our humpbacks usually are travelling at. We suspect there may have been a large bait ball of fish up ahead that she was cruising to get. Either way, Fader was on a mission, and after a couple of quick surfaces we left them to continue our search for more whales.
Today was our lucky day! The 77 siblings were excitedly playing together right outside of Active Pass. This pair has spent almost 3 months away from the rest of their pod - we do not know why they are travelling away from them. This is a very unusual behaviour (especially for a young female like Alcyon) but we hope they reunite again soon.
The duo was seen jumping over top of eachother and speedily dashing around the coastline of Galiano Island. They also had a quick bite to eat while we observed them today. Shortly after eating, the two became curious of one of our boats… and actually started mugging it! Mugging is what happens when a whale decides it wants to investigate a boat. Our boat sat with its engines off as the pair came up and rubbed along the pontoons of our Zodiac. After playing for a couple of minutes they became bored and continued on their way. They left us and began heading back into Active Pass.

As we slowly left scene and began our journey home, the pair began breaching in Active Pass’ currents.

Please enjoy these photos by Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster and Ryan Uslu.

Jilann LechnerAugust 31, 2021Comment