July 10th 3:30 PM - Humpbacks Ghost and Prowler travel near Sangster Island
This afternoon our two open boats headed up north looking for the whales spotted in our morning tour. As we searched the now calmer waters, we finally found them near Sangster Island. The two whales we had were Ghost (BCX1333) and Prowler (KEX0047). They were leisurely traveling and there were a few long dives and then the two split up, one moving north-west and the other north-east.
Whales sleep by either slowly swimming next to another animal, or they rest at or near the surface either vertically or horizontally. They swim at a slow speed, essentially drifting with only a few strokes. Baby whales don’t have enough blubber or body fat to be able to float so they sleep using a technique called echelon swimming, which is when they are being towed along in the mother’s slipstream.
Whales are mammals and therefor needs to breath and unlike humans, whales need to be alert and conscious to breath and therefor parts of their brain are always alert while the other part is asleep during their resting state. In their resting state their blowhole is closed, and they must consciously open their blowhole to breath. Humpback whales have two blowholes, whereas dolphins have one. In the photo below you can see the two blowholes just above the water.
Photos by Marine Naturalists Val Watson and Janine Van Der Linden.
Look at the two blowholes followed by the dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson.
The dorsal (top) view of the Ghost (BCX1333) fluke. Photo by Val Watson.
Photo by Val Watson.
Like water of off a whale’s fluke. Photo by Val Watson.
The arch of the humpback whale. Photo by Val Watson.
Eye level view of the blowholes. Photo by Val Watson.
Photo by Val Watson.
The humpback whale colouration blending in with the dark ocean. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Ghost (BCX1333). Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Cascadia, one of our open boats. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
A beautiful view of Sangster Island. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
So so sleepy. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
The various colouration of harbour seals. Photo by Val Watson.
A good snooze in the sun. Photo by Val Watson.
What was that? Photo by Val Watson.
One shy looking seal. Photo by Val Watson.
Pelagic cormorant coming in for a landing. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Double-crested cormorant and a baby. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
Nesting pelagic cormorant and a couple babies. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.
A few Black turnstones preening. Photo by Val Watson.
Mt. Baker. Photo by Val Watson.