June 13th - Familiar faces near home
Today we were fortunate to find 2 families of familiar whales right near home. We encountered the T123s and T137s right outside Nanaimo in Northumberland channel. They were slowly travelling North towards Protection island, tail slapping, breaching and spy hopping as they went. With 2 large boys in the group, it made it easy to keep an eye on them and find them when they would surface.
T123s
T123 - Sidney (37, F)
T123A - Stanley (22, M)
T123C - Lucky (10, F)
T123D - Darcy (4, F)
T137’s
T137 - Loon (38, F)
T137A - Jack (20, M)
T137B - Tempest (16, F)
T137D - Wright (10, F)
Given their ages, it’s likely Loon and Sidney have known each other since they were calves themselves. Jack and Stanley are both about the same age as well, likely enjoying some time with another male their age, given they both travel with their mom and two younger sisters.
These guys were full of energy and engaging in typical T-party behaviour as they travelled north. After we left these whales we did a loop around Gabriola Island looking for seals, sea lions and other wildlife before returning to the harbour. Our whales decided they wanted to stay nearby, giving us a second opportunity to see them before we returned to the harbour. We saw them near Protection island, this time travelling a little slower, likely resting after so much splashing earlier.
Below are some photos of the whales during our tour taken by marine naturalists Vanessa and Rebecca.
Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123 Sidney. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T137 Loon. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T137 Loon. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T137 Loon. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T137A Jack. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123D Darcy. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123 Sidney. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123 Sidney. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
Can you spot the whales? Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T123C Lucky. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Rebecca Stirling.
T137 Loon (left) and T137D Wright (right). Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T123A Stanley (back) and T37A Jack (front). Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T123C Lucky spyhopping! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Sealion tails! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T137A Jack (left) and T123A Stanley (right). Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T1137A Jack (left) and T123A Stanley (right). Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.