April 10, 2023 - The T049As (-A2) along the Sunshine Coast
Today was quite the adventure! We had two boats leave the Harbour with overcast skies today, but the rain held off long enough for the tour! Keta and Cascadia left the Nanaimo Harbour together, and then shortly parted ways to increase our search area today. Cascadia headed North into the Strait of Georgia while Keta went south into the Southern Gulf Islands.
After about an hour of searching with no luck, we got word from another company that they had spotted some whales way up north along the sunshine coast! At this point our two boats were along Valdes island, so the race was on to get to those whales, since they were the only group that had shown up today.
Both boats headed right that way, and once they arrived, they were greeted by the big black fins of one of our favourite pods of Transient Orca: The T049As! As is the case most of the time seeing this pod lately, the second son, T049A2 Jude was missing, he might still be off hanging out with his uncle!
Today it was the rest of the family though, so:
T049A Nan ♀ (1986)
T049A1 Noah ♂ (2001)
T049A3 Nat ♂ (2011)
T049A4 Neptune ♂ (2014)
T049A5 Nebula ♀ (2017)
T049A6 (2022)
Since this group is one of the more commonly seen pods in our area, we feel like we know them pretty well. T049A6 especially has won a place in our staff’s hearts. The young whale who was born last year seemed to have a rough start to life as they were quite beaten up when we first saw them. Since then the dorsal injury has healed up nicely, and they are almost always a joy to see, throwing most of their body out of the water so we can get a great view of their overbite!
Today this pod was travelling south along the sunshine coast. Travel is what we see out of the local transient orca most of the time. Since we are lucky enough to observe these animals in their natural habitat you never know what you might catch them doing! An hour glimpse into the life of an orca is a special thing, even if they are just moving from place to place!
I always like to think of what is most likely for someone to catch me doing if they were to watch me for an hour each day. Am I more likely to be doing jumping jacks or more likely to be sitting here at the desk? Lucky for us, even an average moment in the life of the orca is mesmerizing.
Eventually, we made our way away from the T049As and started the journey back to the harbour, filled with joy for being able to watch this amazing pod.
All of the photos of the whales and other wildlife from today’s trip were taken by the onboard marine naturalists Aly Kohlman and Vanessa Vereschahen and can be viewed below!
A Harbour Seal hanging out on the Fucus! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A big group of Harbour Seals! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Their speckled colouration helps them blend into the rocks. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A harbour seal in the banana pose, using the last bit of the rock to relax before the tide kicks it off. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A curious Steller Sea Lion investigating our vessel. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A large Male Steller Sea Lion stands out against the smaller members of his species. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Bald Eagle keeps a watchful eye from a nearby rock. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A Nan surfacing. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A1 Noah showing off his massive dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A3 Nat surfacing. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
From front to back of the group: T049A1 Noah, T049A Nan, and T049A3 Nat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A1 Noah travelling away from the boat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Look at the size difference between T049A6 and their big brother, T049A1 Noah! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A3 Nat travelling in front of T049A1 Noah. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T049A6. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Matriarch T049A Nan in front of T049A1 Noah who is just breaking the surface. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T049A1 Noah fully surfaced while T049A Nan goes down for a dive. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T049A3 Nat in front of his big brother T049A1 Noah. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A curious T049A4 Neptune came over to investigate our vessels. If this happens, we have to shut our engines off until he whales are a safe distance away from us. Until then we just have to enjoy the rare experience! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T049A4 Neptune heading away from the vessel. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
T049A6 is breaking the surface just ahead of their big brother T049A1 Noah. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A very Canadian lighthouse on Merry Island along the Sunshine Coast. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.