July 14th - Zigzag zigzags in the Strait of Georgia
This afternoon we had two boats going out exploring the Strait of Georgia and searching for whales. We travelled through Dodd narrows and headed south where found Zigzag (AKA Trinity), a female humpback whale, just off of Galiano island.
Humpback whales are identified using markings, colourations, and the outlines of their flukes. To identify whales we take photos of the ventral (bottom) side of their flukes and compare them to our Humpback Whale Catalogue, sometimes we also use their dorsal fin to identify the individuals. The first photo is the catalogue page for Zigzag/Trinity showing her reference photo, her name, her catalogue number, and any other information we have on the individual. There are close to 400 identified and named individuals in our waters and luckily this number is increasing as we regularly see mothers and calves.
Below the catalogue photo, we have a photo taken by one of our naturalists of Zigzag’s fluke. The angle of this photo is perfect for identification purposes, it shows the dots we use to identify her, but it also shows the trailing edge of the fluke which can be used to identify an individual. The humpbacks are placed in one of three categories, they can either be an X, Y or Z whale. X-whales have less than 20% white on the ventral side of their flukes, Y-whales have 20% - 80% white, and Z-whales have greater than 80% white on their flukes. Calves don’t get their own numbers for at least the first two years of their life as they are most vulnerable and has a higher chance of mortality during the first two years of their lives.
Of course, there is various other wildlife we look for when we are out and about. We look for other marine mammals and found some Northern Steller Sea Lions and Harbour seals, both hauled out and warming themselves in the sun. We also look for various birds that call our area their home.
Please enjoy these photos taken by our marine naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen and Carmen Murphy.