May 17th 10:30 AM - The Alaskan Boys near Nanaimo
Hopes were high when Kula left the dock on the morning of May 17th as there had been reports of orca right inside Nanaimo Harbor to start our day! Shortly after leaving the dock the vessel spotted a blow in the distance and found the Alaskan Brothers, T125A and T128: Flotsam and Jetsam! These two brothers have been prowling the area lately, showing off their massive dorsal fins and hunting prowess. Today we got to see them traveling north up along Vancouver Island until they eventually stopped for a nap and we left to find some other wildlife.
T125A Jetsam surfaces in the waters off of Snake Island near Nanaimo.
These two whales are known as “exotic” whales in our range since they used to spend most of their time up in Alaska, as their nickname tells you. In the last few years though it seems that they have been spending more and more time in the waters of the Salish Sea, perhaps due to the increasing number of pinnipeds in the area present for them to eat!
The two brothers T128 Flotsam in the lead and T125A Jetsam behind him.
Speaking of the pinnipeds that’s what our boat left in search of after the whales! They made a pit stop at Entrance Island where there were a bunch of Steller Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks. Around the point of Entrance Island, there was another congregation of sea lions, this time it was the California Sea Lions! Sea lions tend to be a favourite of the guests in the spring and fall when they are present in our waters in large numbers before they migrate away to their breeding grounds.
Some Steller Sea Lions hauled out on Entrance Island!
Seals were next on the list to find so the tour continued south to the Flat Top Islands, just south of Gabriola Island. Here there are a few different haul-out sites for the harbour seals, today we went to Saturnina island and all the cute rock sausages watched us back as we floated nearby.
The seals were watching us as we watched them!
These seals have amazing camouflage and can sometimes be hard to spot, luckily our naturalists are eagle-eyed and will be able to help you out!
After seeing the seals it was a scenic ride home through the de Courcy islands and up Northumberland Channel to get a look at the Gabriola bluffs before returning to the Nanaimo Harbour.
It was a fantastic trip where we didn’t have to go far to see the whales! Please enjoy more of the amazing photos taken by Marine Naturalist Rebeka Pirker below!
Jetsam surfacing with Entrance Island in the background.
These whales are so big! Since they’re adult males Jetsam (pictured here) and his brother are likely 8m long with 6 foot tall dorsal fins!
Jetsam again! He was more photogenic than his brother!
Jetsam surfacing with Pipers Lagoon in the background.
The two brothers again!
Jetsam again!
This time Jetsam is in the lead ahead of his brother Flotsam.
A couple of young Steller sea lions fighting on the rocks.
A California Sea Lion snoozing in the sunshine!
Different layers of seal along the rocks of Saturnina Island.
Lazy seals along the rocks.
The cormorants along the Gabriola Bluffs.
Gotta take care of those feathers!