This morning we had our two open boats out and about scouring the Strait of Georgia looking for wildlife. We headed out past Gabriola Island into the Strait of Georgia.

Out in the Strait of Georgia we came across two humpback whales, Sherwina (KEY0034) and Trooper (KEX0026), slapping their pectoral fins. There are various theories proposed by scientist as to why humpback whales slap their tails and their pectoral fins. One of reasons humpback whales slap their pectoral fins is as a form of communication with the sound of the slapping traveling long distances and is heard by others in the vicinity. The other reason could be that the impact of the slap stuns the prey in the area and therefor makes feeding easier. Another reason is believed to get rid of external parasites such as sea lice or the build up barnacles.

If you look at Trooper’s dorsal fin you can see a gash which was caused by an impact with a boat propeller in 2018. Vessel strikes are still one of the biggest threats not only to humpback whales, but various other whales. To reduce the chance of vessel strikes various regulations has been put in place to protect the whales. Vessels are not allowed to approach whales closer than 100m and orcas closer than 400m. When you are less than 1km from a whale you have to reduce your speed to less than 7 knots.

After that we heard about a report of a lone orca off of Bowen Island, so off we went crossing the Strait of Georgia. There, all by himself was Indy (T065A5), one of Fingers/Artemis’ (T065A) sons. Lately he has been traveling by himself, which males sometimes do. We watched him for a while and then had to return home.

Photos by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Janine Van Der Linden.

August 22nd 10:30AM - Trooper & Sherwina & T065A5 Indy

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