August 22, 2023, 3:30 - Double species day with Beak, Raccoon, Split Fin, and the T137s!

Today we found three different humpbacks during our afternoon trip: Beak/Nuage (BCX1606), Raccoon (BCX1233) and Split Fin (BCZ0298). Raccoon and Split Fin were associating in the middle of the Strait of Georgia, meandering along and likely feeding as they went. Split Fin was being a bit fluke-shy today and was rarely raising his tail up in the air. Normally, this could prove quite problematic as we typically use the underside of their flukes to confirm their ID. However, Split Fin earned his name because of his unique dorsal fin - it has two ‘notches’ (or splits) in it, which results in a distinct triple-pointed shape. A couple of quick photos of his dorsal was all we needed to confirm this lovely male’s ID today.

Today Beak was travelling by himself, slow fluking (bringing his tail up) as he was feeding away.

After departing our humpbacks we got word of a pod of orca crossing False Narrows, a very shallow waterway near Dodd Narrows. Our fleet spread out, 2 going to the north of False Narrows and one going to the south. No boats were currently on scene, meaning we relied on our own eyes to locate these elusive whales. We scanned and scanned and searched for the orca. While you’d think these giant whales would be easy to locate, when they are travelling at speed they can actually be quite tricky to spot.

Suddenly, we saw a tall dorsal flopping from side to side. False Narrows is so shallow that this large male was likely dragging his belly along the bottom of the waterway as he crossed. Once they popped out into deeper water, we were able to ID them as the T137s, a pod consisting of 4 members:

T137 Loon (1984)
T137A Jack (2002)
T137B Tempest (2006)
T137D Wright (2012)

These 4 were diving quite deep as they headed southbound through the Southern Gulf Islands. They meandered their way along Valdez Island’s coastline for a bit before they promptly decided they wanted to catch dinner. A hunt quickly started, and T137A Jack launched himself into the air. A short while later, after the successful meal, the quartet of orca continued their journey southbound.

Photos taken by Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster, Carmen Murphy, and Ella Hillbrecht.

Raccoon fluking. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Split Fin, can you guess how he got his name? Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Split Fins dorsal fin. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Raccoon making a waterfall. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Raccoon diving with the B.C. Ferry in the background. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Stellar Sea Lions yelling as usual. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Stellar Sea Lions in a tussle. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Stellar Sea Lions in a cuddle puddle. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Side eye from a Stellar. Photo by Ella Hillbrecht.

Jack T137A picking up speed! Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Jack T137A in the lead with another surfacing behind. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Handsome Jack T137A swimming behind another. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Left to right: Loon T137 with her son Jack T137A. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Left to right: Wright T137D, Jack T137A and Loon T137. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Jack 137A with Tempest T137B. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Tempest T137B. Photo by Ella Hillbrecht.

A chubby little Harbor Seal. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Harbour Seal with a pup. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

A wink from a Harbour Seal. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Look at that fuzz on an adorable Harbour Seal. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Jilann LechnerAugust 22, 2023WhalesComment