Another double species day! Today we were lucky enough to find both Orca and Humpbacks in the same area-just west of Lantzville. Guests were treated to a real adventure, and they braved the wind and waves to find the whales. Luckily, the trek wasn’t too far, and soon enough they saw the familiar blows of a Humpback. It was our girl Anvil BCZ0410, still hanging out in what is quickly becoming a favourite spot of hers. Anvil usually gives us really great shots of her fluke, but didn’t appear to bring that tail up super high today! Who knows if it was the whale or the waves, but either way we enjoy seeing her. So much so, she’s one of our sticker whales! We have several of our favourite Humpbacks and Orca available as stickers in our shop!

After we spent some time with Anvil, we decided to head over to the Orca that had been reported nearby. Today’s pod(s) include:

T046C2 Sam ♀ (2009)

T046B1 Tread ♀ ( 2003)
T046B1A Tsakani ♀ (2015)
T046B1C (2022)

A smaller group today, but an interesting one nonetheless. T046B1 Tread is part of a much larger matriline and is often travelling with her mother, T046B Raksha and sister T046B2 Akela. However, today Tread has dispersed from the rest of her immediate family, a sight that is becoming more and more common. She’s well on her way to starting her own matriline altogether! This small family was also travelling with another loner of the Salish Sea, T046C2 Sam. If you think those numbers look similar, it’s because they are! Sam is actually Tread’s cousin, as their moms T046B Raksha and T046C Carmanah are sisters. Sam is another funny little whale who has been travelling on her own more and more recently. Similar to our Salish Sea rascal Indy, Sam doesn’t travel with her own family often and often pops up tagging alongside other families as they travel and hunt nearby. It’s hard to say if she’s her own pod yet officially, but only time will tell!

We finished up our day with our favourite pinnipeds, the Stellar Sea Lions and Harbour seals off of Stinky Rocks. Even in the waves, this is one of our fave spots! The sea lions always dazzle and are definitely a fan favourite on our tours.

Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalists Vanessa Vereschahen, Carmen Murphy, and Aly Kohlman.

July 22, 2023- A Collection of Cousins, and Anvil Again!

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