July 10, 2023, 3:30 - T065As and T077s right outside Nanaimo!
This afternoon was quite the tour! As soon as our open vessel Keta turned the corner around Jack Point (about a 5-minute boat ride from the Nanaimo harbour), we came across a mystery pod! It took around 25 minutes of stress for our captain and naturalist onboard to determine that the pod we were watching were transient orcas. We do this because we don’t watch the resident orcas of the area, as they are endangered and their hunting behaviours are proven to be affected by vessel noise. T065A2 Ooxjaa has a very larger distinct dorsal fin that allowed our naturalist onboard to get a confirmed ID. Today’s group included:
T065A Artemis ♀ (1986)
T065A2 Ooxjaa ♂ (2004)
T065A3 Amir ♂ (2007)
T065A4 Ellifrit ♀ (2011)
T065A5 Indy ♂ (2014)
T065A6 Callisto ♀ (2018)
T077 Asja ♀ (~1981)
T077C Neftali ♂ (2006)
T077D Alycon ♀ (2009)
T077E Misneach (2016)
A t-party occurs when multiple family pods spend time together, socializing, hunting and mating with one another. A t-party is the only time the transient orcas get to spend time with other transient orcas outside of their own family group. Today’s t-party was quite fun, with the smaller ones porpoising and moving incredibly fast towards Dodd Narrows, almost as if they were racing and the last one to Dodd Narrows was a rotten egg! Lagging behind the rest of the main pod today was T065A2 Ooxjaa, which is typical behaviour from him. In the past, he has been seen travelling one or two kilometres from his family, just to join up with them again when they have caught their next family meal. Transient orcas have a particular love of the harbour seals of this area. Harbour seals are the slowest prey that the transient orcas have, reaching maximum speeds of up to 25km/hr, whereas orcas can swim upwards of 50km/hr. We aren’t too worried about the harbour seal’s population dwindling, as they are in the greatest abundance along the shoreline of British Columbia, with over 100,000 individuals estimated to be found here among 1400 different haul-out sites.
Seeing T065A5 Indy here with his family was a pleasant surprise, as he is known to be seen travelling by himself and sometimes with other transient pods having fun with the other whales. Indy is known for his strange behaviour, with plenty of days breaching and tail-slapping repeatedly, as seen by us just two days prior on July 8th or playing amongst the crab traps along the Richmond shoreline that we witnessed in the morning of July 9th.
The Bald eagles and both of their eaglets were spotted at the Gabriola Bluffs today. Pinecone and Freddy are the names that we have given them, and they seem to have stuck pretty well. It’s known that a dominant Bald Eagle young can eat its sibling if its parents are not able to catch enough food for them. Luckily, we have been watching Pinecone and Freddy for about two months now and we are happy to say that they have both survived to the point where they have been flying from their nest! We love a happy ending!
Photos on this day were taken by Marine Naturalist Carmen Murphy.
Callisto Porpoising towards Dodd Narrows.
Indy travelling with his Family! A rare sight.
Indy (left) and Asja (right) surfaced in sync.
Ooxjaa with his towering dorsal fin.
The two matriarchs Artemis (left) and Asja (right). Interestingly, these two were born only two years apart.
Ellifrit (left) and another surfacing side by side.
Callisto surfacing.
Ellifrit surfacing showing off her little face!
Asja surfacing in the waves.
A family photo in front of a freighter, a classic West Coast photo.
Indy and Asja surfacing next to each other.
Ooxjaa with his big blow backlight in the sunset.
An adult Bald Eagle near the seal haul out.
A harbour seal hanging out in the intertidal zone.
Steller Sea Lions on Stinky Rocks.
A big male amongst the small others.