It was a gorgeous breezy day as we ventured south towards an early report of whales! We passed through Dodd Narrows and continued along the coastline until we spotted a couple of dorsals angling towards the Ladysmith Harbour. After snapping a few photos, these 3 were identified as the T101s:

T101 Reef ♀ (≤1969)
T101A Rush ♂ (1993)
T101B Lagoon ♂ (1997)

This pod has been frequenting our area over the past few days. They are always an amazing sight to behold as the two large brothers travel beside their (much smaller) mother. As Reef is an older lady (estimated to be at least 55 years old), this pod is unlikely to ever get any bigger. That is because just like humans, orca go through menopause. Post-reproductive life is important for our orca, as this is when the matriarch passes a lot of her knowledge to her offspring, including where to hunt and what routes to take. It’s also believed that menopause helps orca populations so that mothers and daughters can live in harmony. If the matriarch continued to reproduce later in life, there could be issues around providing enough food for calves for both the older mother and her daughters as well, leading to stress and could ultimately lead to more calf deaths as well.
While Reef doesn’t have any grandkids to raise as she only travels with her two sons, she is still the main provider for the pod when it comes to hunting, and she will continue to be important in their lives for as long as she lives!

The orca weren’t the only wildlife we saw today though! There were lots of Harbour seals and Sea lions snoozing up on the rocks. Our sea lions were busy grumbling and growling amongst each other as they fought over the best places to relax on the rocks.

It’s currently pup season for our Harbour seals so we are occasionally getting to see some extra cute, small, squishy faces amongst the adults. Sadly we won’t get to see these pups for long - seal pups need to grow up very fast as they are only with their mothers for 4-6 weeks. In this time, they need to grow and learn how to hunt. In the seal world, it’s a pretty quick turnaround from being a brand new baby to being considered an “adult”!

Our final stop of the evening was along Gabriola’s shoreline to visit the Bluffs where many of our birds nest. The most noticeable bird amongst the rocks is our Cormorants - long-necked fishing bird. Cormorants use their guano (poop) as glue to stick their nests to the cliffside. It’s common for us to see these birds diving into the waters of Northumberland Channel to get fish for themselves and their chicks. While Cormorants are excellent swimmers, their feathers are not waterproof, so once they have their catch they are unable to immediately fly back up to their nest. Because of this, it is common to see these birds lounging near the water’s edge with their wings outstretched, sunning themselves and drying off before they return home.

As the sun was beginning to set we turned back towards Nanaimo and headed back into port after another successful day on the water!

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalists Vanessa Vereschahen and Hayleigh Hilbert below of the T101s and the other wildlife seen during the trip!

June 11, 2023 - The T101s hunting in Ladysmith

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