Pun of the day: “My mum makes the best soups. She is a real soup-erstar.”

Today was a classic day of Humpback Soup. Our Humpbacks were ID’d as Ocular (KEX0019), Anvil (KEZ0002), her 2022 calf, Mathematician (BCY0785), Tempest (BCX0837), Sherwina (KEY0034), Trooper (KEX0026), and Strike (KEX0045)!

While Ocular has not been in our area much this year, they were around a lot last season. They seem to like to travel with others, as we often saw them glued to the sides of other young humpbacks in the area.

Today, it seemed like Ocular was playing with Anvil and her new calf. The trio was seen pec slapping (slapping their huge side fins down on the water), rolling around, and spy hopping (bringing their faces out of the water). They also seemed to be ‘grumbling’ - you could hear a low rumble emanating from their mouths as they surfaced. While humpbacks are far from boring, it’s not usual to hear any type of sounds like this above water.

After leaving the trio our semi-covered vessel Kula popped over to find Mathematician and Tempest foraging by Thrasher Rock. This area has been a go-to destination for many of our humpbacks this season - there must be a ton of food down there for them! While Mathematician has been seen in our area previously, we have never encountered them ourselves before this year.

Tempest was a bit difficult to ID today. She has some fresh markings on her fluke, meaning she no longer matches her ID photo. She is a perfect example of how we always need to be on our toes looking for the smallest of markings to confirm IDs and a good reminder of why we need to keep updating our guides constantly!

After leaving this pair, Kula stumbled on another duo - this time it was Sherwina and Trooper. Trooper is a very unique whale - they have a giant gash behind its dorsal fin. We know that this scar was caused by a ship strike sometime in 2018. Unfortunately, we have lost a handful of calves over the years from ship strikes. Trooper is a lucky survivor and we hope they are able to grow and thrive in years to come.

Sherwina has become a regular sight for us - she spent a solid 2 weeks doing circles near Neck Point earlier this year. Her ‘paint-dipped’ flukes are nice and easy to spot. If you’re lucky, you may be able to see this lovely lady next time you take a stroll down to Neck Point Park or Piper’s Lagoon!

Our open vessel Keta took a slightly different route in search of a particularly elusive humpback named Strike. Strike has been in the same area for weeks now. She’s been doing circles in the inside of the Southern Gulf Islands just south of Dodd Narrows. Keta and her crew entered the area and proceeded to stop and scan in search of her. The weather was absolutely stunning and calm, leading to them using their ears as well as their ears to try and locate her as she surfaced. Today, it seems like she may have been napping when we approached. She was going under for 10-15 minutes at a time. Her ‘blows’ were also quite small - they appeared more orca-like than humpback-like in size today!

After leaving all of our humpbacks, we searched for other wildlife. We were able to find Harbour seals, Steller Sea Lions, California Sea Lions, and Cormorants! What a wildlife-filled day it was!

Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalists Janine Van Der Linden and Aly Kohlman.

September 24th - Humpbacks, Humpbacks, Humpbacks!

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