October 14, 2023 - Three pairs of Humpbacks near Halibut Bank
We can never get enough of the humpbacks! Today we ended up spotting three different pairs of humpbacks travelling together near Halibut Bank.
The first pair that we spotted was Graphite (KEX0059) travelling with a new whale to us, BCY1157. These two were travelling close together, not doing those deeper feeding dives that would usually give us a better look at their tail as they dive. Lucky for us, they were showing them off just enough for us to get some photos. Graphite we were able to identify on scene, but BCY1157 took us a little bit longer! This whale hasn’t been seen by us before, so it was quite exciting as we saw the familiar tail as we flipped through the catalogues in search!
The next pair that we ended up coming across was Split Fin (BCZ0298) travelling with Harpy (BCY0660calf2020). These two were also closely associated and travelling while we spent our time with them. Interestingly, these two are both Z-type whales, meaning that almost the entire underside of their tail flukes is white. Since these are the least common type of humpback whale found in our waters it’s pretty cool that we ended up finding two travelling together! While Harpy was more active with her tail, giving one big flick exposing the entire underside for easy ID, Split Fin didn’t show us his tail once. He has a super distinctly damaged dorsal fin, his namesake, that we used to ID him in this case.
The final pair we saw was Snoopy (BCY0770) and Beak/Nuage (BCX1606). This pair was a bit more active than the others. They seemed to be playing with each other, swimming sideways, trumpeting at the surface, and even getting curious about the boats! They came up for a close inspection, looking at the boat and spending a few minutes surfacing around us.
Although not unheard of, this behaviour is pretty rare and usually only certain individuals are known to do it. Sometimes it's taught to youngsters by their mom, or by another adult in the first couple years of their life, but we don’t have records of either of these whales usually approaching boats. This made this close encounter even more special for everyone onboard!
Between looking at all of these wonderful whales, we also made a stop at the White Islets, a seal and sea lion haul-out area, and got to see all three pinniped species: Steller Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, and California Sea Lions! It was an unforgettable day!
Our naturalists Aly Kohlman and Des Poier got some amazing photos of all this wildlife, which can be viewed below.
Graphite diving. Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Graphite’s tail which we use for ID. Photo by Des Poier.
BCY1176 diving. Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of BCY1176 tail. Photo by Des Poier.
Another look at Graphite’s tail. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
BCY1157’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Graphite’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Harpy’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The underside of Harpy’s tail as she flicks it at the surface. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The Sea Lions at White islets. Photo by Des Poier.
These are all Steller Sea Lions in this photo. Photo by Des Poier.
A large male posing in front of the others. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A common sight on a haul-out: a mal Steller Sea Lion growling at the others. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The Harbour Seals enjoying the sunshine. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Some Cormorants on the White Islets as well. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Snoopy’s very distinct tail. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Someone’s nostrils as they came over to investigate the boat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The underside of Snoopy’s tail tells the story of his entanglement. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Snoopy doing a strange surface in the water. Photo by Des Poier.
The top of Snoopy’s tail is also very distinct. Photo by Des Poier.
Snoopy heading towards the boat. He has these tiny bumps all over his skin, maybe cysts below the surface? Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Beak’s tail. Photo by Des Poier.
Beak doing a flick of his tail at the surface of the water. Photo by Des Poier.
Beak’s Dorsal fin. Photo by Des Poier.
Snoopy rains water on himself with this exhale. Photo by Des Poier.
Snoopy’s dorsal fin. Photo by Des Poier.
Beak creates a fluke waterfall as he dives beneath the water. Photo by Des Poier.
Beak’s tail. Photo by Des Poier.
The whales checking out Kula! Look at all those excited guests! Photo by Des Poier.
Beak (front) and Snoopy (back) diving in front of Kula. Photo by Des Poier.
A great blue heron fishing on the docks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.