May 2, 2023- An Eventful Hunt Right Outside Nanaimo Harbour with the T065B's and T124A2's

What a day! Spirits were high on the morning of the 2nd, as T049A1 Noah was spotted in the Harbour before our boat went out. There were also reports of a pod coming up through Dodd Narrows, so our team was eager to get out there! Our anticipation was validated as soon as we left the dock, with a pod showing up to hunt right outside Nanaimo Harbour in Trincomali Channel, just off Gabriola Island. Today’s whales included:

T065B Chunk ♀ (1993)
T065B1 Birdsall ♂ (2011)
T065B2 Nettle ♂ (2019)
T065B3 (2023)

T124A2 Elkugu ♀ (2001)
T124A2A Agafia ♂ (2013)
T124A2B Litton ♀ (2016)

T124C Cooper ♂ (1992)

After leaving the dock only minutes prior, we quickly stumbled onto the reported pod, consisting of the T065B’s and T124A2’s hunting together with T065B Chunk’s newest unnamed calf (T065B3) in tow. Today’s unfortunate target was a male California Sea Lion, who already appeared injured as we arrived on the scene. Our initial excitement turned to utter surprise as the pod decided to head right towards us, so we cut the engines and sat patiently waiting. Almost immediately we were met with a parade of splashing, breaching and coordinated attacks as the hunt began. Between the rocking of the waves and the action in the water close by, our guests and crew watched with bated breath as the orca continued their advances on their prey!

The hunt continued for the next hour or so, as the other pod members taught the new calf how to hunt. Following the hunt, we were treated to a spectacular scene as the calf and other members celebrated their catch, spy hopping and breaching over and over. During this exciting encounter, we also spotted a lone male a short distance away. Our Naturalist Des snapped some pictures and quickly identified him as T124C Cooper. Although not directly involved in the hunt, Cooper joined the group momentarily before heading off on his own again. He was a bit shy this day, only surfacing for a moment before taking longer dives, a stark difference from the celebrating party happening behind us. There was also a mishmash of shorebirds looking to capitalize on the orca’s leftovers for their own lunch. The gulls quickly swarmed and were even joined by a lone Bald eagle looking for scraps.

We stayed with the pod a while longer as they frolicked through the calming harbour waters, hugging the coastline of Gabriola. With such an eventful start to the day, the tour flew by and we were still only five minutes from home! To round out the tour, we headed over to Harmac to see a large raft of Steller and California Sea lions. You can usually smell these guys before you see them, and today was no exception.

After staying with the sea lions for a while longer, we slowly made our way back over to Gabriola. The pod had moved further north, so we headed over to the Gabriola Bluffs to see our Cormorants at their rookery. It’s always a treat to watch these magnificent shorebirds flying high into their nest, tucked safely into the nooks and crannies of the steep sandstone.

We had a great day with the local wildlife, and because we didn’t go far, we decided to enjoy the sunshine and finish off the tour by doing a quick loop of the harbour, whizzing by the tankers off Saysutshun Island to enjoy a few more minutes on the water. We also got to see an incoming Seaspan vessel shooting its water cannon off the port side, reasons unknown! A very cool sight nonetheless.

Today’s amazing photos were captured by Naturalist Desarae (Des) Poier.

T065B Chunk gives us a good view of her eye patch.

The California Sea Lion. It’s important to remember that this is a completely natural occurrence - Orca are predators and our Transient orca specialize in hunting marine mammals such as sea lions.

T065B3 coming up for a little people watching.

Left to right: T124A2 Elkugu, T065B Chunk and T065B3.

T124A2A Agafia, can you see the piece of tail missing?

Left to right: T124A2 Elkugu, T065B1 Birdsall and T124A2A Agafia leading the celebration.

T124A2 Elkugu, T065B1 Birdsall and T124A2A Agafia

Left to right: T065B1 Birdsall and T124A2A Agafia.

T124A2A Agafia, a better view of the missing part of his fluke.

Can you spot the blood in the water? A sign the hunt was a success.

California Sea Lions relaxing on the log booms.

A Pelagic Cormorant, you can really see the beautiful colours in the sunshine.

Jilann LechnerMay 2, 2023WhalesComment