April 26, 2024 - A duo of humpbacks and then a little T-party by Vancouver!

We started the day with a duo of humpbacks identified as Ghost (BCX1333) and Graze (BCY0523). These two weren’t up to much today - just travelling and occasionally fluking. This is pretty common for early-season humpbacks, as they are just arriving in our area after their breeding season migration. When they arrive they are famished, as they tend to fast the entire way to their breeding grounds, in the grounds themselves, and the way back. This can take over a month to do - that’s a long time to not eat! During the early months of the year (April-May) our humpbacks are busily packing on as many pounds as possible to get their weight back up in preparation for the next migration in the fall/winter.

Ghost and Graze are an interesting combo. Both of these individuals are known females who have brought calves back to our area before. Neither have calves this year, but we are curious if they are both currently pregnant and travelling together as pregnancy buddies. Time will tell - we have our fingers crossed these two beauties come back with bouncy babies in tow this time next year!

The most iconic duo that did this was Heather (BCY0160) and Raptor (BCY0458) back in 2019. These two spent the entire feeding season side-by-side - it was so common to see them travelling together that they were nicknamed the “Best Friends of the Salish Sea”. In 2020, these ladies brought back two calves that have been commonly seen on our trips ever since - Neowise (BCY1228) and Harpy (BCZ0503). Neowise and Harpy were even seen travelling together last year! The social life of Humpbacks is still a topic we know very little about, so we are always very excited whenever we see these interesting interactions occur.

After watching our humpbacks for a bit we headed on out towards a different whale report. There was a group of orca spotted nearby, close to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. It didn’t take us long to zip around the corner and locate this mini-party not far from where we had seen Ghost and Graze. These whales were identified as the T065Bs and T124A2s:

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

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

The whales were being a bit uncooperative for photos during this trip. There was lots of action - tail slapping, some spy hops, and even some breaches, but they kept doing it while our Naturalist was busy! That’s okay though - wild whales are predictably unpredictable, and while it was tricky to get photos of the experience, it’s always amazing to be able to see the breaches with your own eyes at least!

T065B2 Nettle and T124A2A Agafia seemed to be extra feisty and excited today. These two were continuously chasing each other around and tail-slapping - just being a couple of energetic youngsters.

After an action-packed afternoon with our orca, we left them and began looking for other wildlife. Our first stop was to see a big pile of sea lions up on the rocks. There were sea lions of all shapes and sizes present, with a couple of HUGE males amongst the little ones. At one point, one of the little ones appeared to move and upset one of the large males, who suddenly started grumbling and roaring. This led to another sea lion starting to chomp at the large male’s throat. Was it telling him “hey, be quiet I’m trying to sleep”? We aren’t 100% sure, but it did lead to a lot of complaining amongst the other individuals on the rocks.

We made one last stop at the Gabriola Bluffs before heading back to the docks. Our Cormorants are busily preparing their nesting areas in preparation for the laying season. Give it another 2 months and this cliffside will be ringing with the squawking and squabbling calls of many baby cormorants calling out for dinner!

The wildlife encounters didn’t end once we docked either! While on our way back up to our office to get out of our suits, we spotted a pair of otters lounging on the docks. These two have been very active around our area lately. We suspect we will see some otter pups with them in the next month and a half - so keep an eye out for more photos of these little ones in the future!

Photos by Marine Naturalist Aly Kohlman.

Graze (BCY0523) - she rarely flukes, so it’s a good thing she has a distinct dorsal fin!

T065B3 porpoising to catch up with the party.

Now that’s a lot of whales! Left to right: T065B1 Birdsall, T065B2 Nettle, T065B Chunk, and T124A2 Elkugu.

T065B1 Birdsall with T124A2 Elkugu right behind him.

T065B2 Nettle - his saddlepatch has taken quite the beating!

T065B3, T124A2 Elkugu, and T065B Chunk (tip of dorsal).

A big tail slap from one of the excited youngsters, with T065B1 Birdsall in front of them.

T124A2A Agafia flinging his tail around, likely with T065B2 Nettle beside him.

T065B Chunk - can you see how she got her name?

And THEN the camera decides to focus. Thanks technology!

A beautiful waterfall from one of the younger whale’s tails.

T124A2A Agafia arching his back completely backwards!

T124A2A Agafia has a very distinct fluke thanks to his missing right corner.

You can really see the difference between a mature male Steller and a young sea lion here! Woah!

A Gull walking around with its lunch - a sea star!

A young Bald Eagle watching the waters below.

A Double-crested Cormorant in breeding plumage.

A cluster of Ochre sea stars. With a large group of sea anemones below them.

A pair of River Otters that live on the docks by our office.

Jilann LechnerApril 26, 2024WhalesComment