March 21, 2024 - T090s and T124A2s in calm waters
Today we left the dock on our Semi-Covered vessel, Kula, and headed out onto the flat calm seas of the Strait of Georgia. This doesn’t happen often, but we already had a report of whales that we were heading to! This group was seen going through Active Pass earlier in the day, and was found by another vessel that let us know where they were. Communication in this industry is so important, since the whales are relatively small, and the ocean is so big! It can be hard (although not that hard) to find them without anything to go on.
This pod (or as it turns out, PODS) were heading north about in the middle of the Strait when we caught up to them, and seemed to be pointed towards the sand bank near Vancouver. This sand bank is deposited there by the Fraiser River. This influx of water and nutrients make it a great place for fish, seals, sea lions, and sometimes whales to hang out. This little food chain ended up being in full action today as we got to watch the orca, which are apex predators, hunt!
Before the hunt we did get some travel time from them, which can be very useful for getting IDs. We had one large male in the group who we figured out was T090B Piglet! We quickly IDed others from his pod, and some non-related whales mixed in as well. The other whales were the T124A2s! This means all the whales present were:
T090 Eagle ♀ (1980)
T090B Piglet ♂ (2006)
T090C Tigger ♀ (2010)
T090D Kanga (2017)
T124A2 Elkugu ♀ (2001)
T124A2A Agafia ♂ (2013)
T124A2B Litton ♀ (2016)
Although not related, these whales have been spotted travelling together before! It might be that the Matriarchs are friends, or they just work well together. Unrelated pods of Biggs orca are often spotted together without much information on why, which leaves us speculating the reasons.
Today the “work well together” theory seemed strong, as we watched these two pods work together to take down their prey and shared it among the different members of the group.
Since the water was so calm, it lead to some amazing photos of the whales as they worked to break the surface tension of the water as they came to the surface to breathe. This provides an interesting window into the life under the water of these whales, although very limited.
After the hunt these whales continued north, and that’s when we left them to the rest of their day and stared the trip back home. We crossed back to the Southern Gulf Islands off of Valdes Island where we found a haul-out of Steller Sea Lions. These massive animals were enjoying some sunshine and rest before they start to migrate to their breeding grounds over the summer months.
We took the inside of the islands back to Nanaimo, using the narrow passageways to weave through the islands, leading us back home. The onboard Marine Naturalist, Vanessa Vereschahen, captured some amazing photos from the day which can all be viewed below!
T124A2B Litton surfacing with T090C tigger behind her.
One of the members is about to break the waters surface with T124A2 Elkugu and T090C Tigger behind them.
T124A2B Litton is sporting some new ditches on her dorsal fin!
T090C Tigger prepares to dive, you can tell since we are seeing so much of the back half of her body.
T124A2 Elkugu has this very distinct eye patch!
You can see T090B Piglet’s face through the wave he is creating!
T090C Tigger, T124A2 Elkugu, T124A2A Agafia, and another all surface together!
T090B Piglett prepares to dive.
Look at all the dark scarring on T090B Piglet’s saddle patch!
Here is a great look at T090B Piglet’s eye patch!
Someones tail coming out of the water.
This aggressive surface could be part of the hunt!
T090D Kanga throwing her tail behind her Mom T090 Eagle.
T090D Kanga and her Mom.
An Adult male and a juvenile next to each other. Quite the size difference!
The younger Steller Sea Lion getting hit by a wave.
A group of lazy Steller Sea Lions on the haul-out.
This large male was very itchy!
A bunch of Brants Cormorants on the rocks. Their blue eyes and neck are an indicator of species.
A gull looking at us from its log perch.
And take-off!