Our Humpback party in the Salish Sea continues again.
Our morning tour spent time with Delta and Fader, both whales were doing deep dives and filling their bellies with delicious food and also took a few naps, logging at the surface.
Delta is an entanglement survivor. They have some expensive scarring at the base of their tail and also some deep grooves along their spine which could either be from entanglement of the scars from a boat strike.

With over 50% of our Humpbacks having entanglement scars, it showcases why our photo identification is so important. When we are on the water, if we see a whale who is actively entangled we can call the right people to alert them, and knowing who the whale is makes it easier to find them, and release them. There is a pilot program on the East coast of Canada, testing easy-break gear on fishing nets and gear that is being left unattended. This gear has break points that are thinner and easier for an animal to break should they become stuck in the gear, which means large whales would have an easier time freeing themselves. If the program is successful it would be implemented on the West Coast.

After leaving Delta and Fader we headed South through the Strait of Georgia in search of a report of 2 other Humpbacks. Instead we stumbled on Graphite, the 2019 calf of Slate. Graphite was doing some short dives while we were with him, but did treat us to a single breech.

In the afternoon our boats hung out with Delta and Fader again, who were continuing their slow feedings, as well as another duo. Snoopy and Scuba. Snoopy is a large confirmed male Humpback that we see frequently in our waters. Today he was traveling with young Scuba, the 2019 calf of Zigzag. Juvenile Humpbacks like Scuba spend a lot of time with adults learning from them. There is only so much time they have with their mom they can’t possibly learn everything, so spending time with other adults is a great way to learn about new foraging techniques and feeding spots.

Enjoy some of our photos from the tours with our gentle giants taken by our Marine Naturalists.