August 5th - The T124 Sisters are back to Nanaimo, Zephyr makes a return to the Salish Sea!

On the morning of the 5th we found a few familiar fins traveling along Gabriola Islands East coast. It was the T124 sisters, Elkugu and Sabio, along with their kids. These 5 have been circling Gabriola Island for several weeks, disappearing from time to time just to return a few days later.
Today this group was travelling north when they stopped to have a snack, it was a harbour seal! After the hunt they did what most orca do, they celebrated. Socializing is quite common after a big meal as everyone rests and digests. While resting we got to see some common social behaviours, including tail lobs and tail slapping.

In the afternoon our boats headed out in search of the same whales but it seems like Ekugu and Sabio had other plans. Between trips, the pod had taken off and vanished. This happens from time to time, as they are wild animals and they don’t really like waiting around. Our boats toured through the gulf islands and the Strait of Georgia looking for blows and fins.
Unfortunately, 2 of our boats returned to the harbour after the search with no luck. They did get to see other marine life as they searched for the whales, but luck just wasn’t with them. Everyone on these boats received a personalized voucher to return and try again whenever they would like!
One of our boats did manage to find a Humpback as they were making their way back to the harbour, it was Zephyr! Zephyr is the first recorded calf of Divot, a female humpback we see every season near Nanaimo and who has been hanging out just off of Point Roberts for the last week. It’s great to see Zephyr return this year to feed in our waters for the summer. She was travelling through Sansum narrows, just south of Crofton and heading north. Zephyr is a confirmed female as she has twice returned to the Salish Sea with a calf of her own, making Divot a proud grandma!

Zephyr has a beautiful striking white tail, unlike her mom’s tail which is almost completely black. Zephyr was doing some deep dives, as humpbacks do, filling her belly with delicious fish and krill after her long migration back to our waters.

Enjoy our photos from the tours today taken by marine naturalists Aly Kohlman, Carmen Murphy, and Vanessa Vereschahen.

T124A4 Sabio. 10:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

T124A2A Agafia. 10:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

T124A4 Sabio - can you see the notches in her dorsal fin that tell us who she is? 10:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

T124A4A - Sabio’s daughter is now over a year old, but still doesn’t travel too far from mom. 10:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

Orcas look a lot less intimidating head-on. 10:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

Zephyr has returned! Looks like she’s sporting some new scratches. 3:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

The black slash marks on her tail help us ID Zephyr quickly. 3:30 📸 Vanessa Vereschahen

Jilann LechnerAugust 9, 2022Comment