July 18, 2024, 3:30 pm - Family drama with the T046Bs and a pair of Humpbacks!

It was another sunny and exciting day as we pushed off the dock and started today’s adventure. Our trip started by going out into the Strait of Georgia, or the big body of water that separates the mainland of British Columbia from Vancouver Island. This area is often teeming with whales, and today was no different!

Our first whales of the day were a pair of humpbacks travelling and fluking together. These two were identified as Niagara (BCY0057) and Graze (BCY0523). This time of year is critical for our humpbacks as they spend their days busily eating away. They need to pack on all the pounds they can in preparation for their migration in the Fall/Winter. Once they depart, they’ll head to either Hawaii or Mexico, where they will breed and give birth. They hardly eat while they migrate and are essentially on an “extended fast” until they return to our area in the Spring to start the cycle all over again. During their migration they rely on the fat stores in their bodies to keep them going, hence why it’s so important for them to eat as much as they can while they are still in our area!

Niagara’s dorsal fin has changed quite a bit recently, making it so they no longer match their catalogue ID photos. This is why it is so important for us to get fluke photos whenever possible - if you only get dorsal fin photos, and the dorsal has changed due to injuries, it is much harder to confirm who you are looking at.

In our area, we typically use the KETA Coastal Conservation Catalogue to identify our whales. These catalogues are living documents - meaning they always need to change and be updated as new whales are born or as whales become injured and bear new scarring. KETA’s 2024 updated catalogue includes over 200 whales commonly seen in our area of the Salish Sea!

Niagara - their dorsal fin has changed when compared to his ID catalogue photos! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

After watching Graze and Niagara for a while we headed on out in search of other wildlife. It didn’t take us long to locate the next best thing - some Transient/Bigg’s orca! We actually found two different groups - the T046Bs travelling by themselves:

T046B Raksha ♀ (1988)
T046B2 Akela ♀ (2008)
T046B2B (2023)
T046B3 Sedna ♀ (2011)
T046B4 Quiver ♀ (2013)
T046B6 Sol ♀ (2019)
T046B7 (2023)

And then the T036As travelling with the T046B1s:

T036A1 Tierna ♀ (2005)
T036A1A (2022)

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

Interestingly, although Raksha is Tread’s mother, the two groups didn’t seem to be interested in interacting with each other today. Considering how important family is to orca, this led us to ask more questions - is there some drama going on in the T046B family? Are Tread and Tierna happier as a pair of firstborn daughters than travelling with their mothers and siblings? While we don’t actually have any answers to these questions, we are always excited to brainstorm on what could possibly be going on in these whales’ brains!

Besides the whales, we also saw a variety of different birds today! Our Cormorants were busily snoozing and sunning themselves along the Gabriola Bluffs. Nestled deep into the rocks we were also able to spot some Gulls with their adorable spotted chicks. Gull chicks look very different from adult Gulls - see if you can spot them in the photos below!

Our final stop today was to see Grayson, our local Eaglet. This young Eagle has finally “flown the coop” shall we say - in other words, they have now left their next and are slowly flying around more and more each day. It’s been amazing to watch this chick grow from a fuzzy little ball of feathers into the majestic bird they are now!

Photos by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Lucy Willis.

Niagara (front) and Graze (back). Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Graze fluking with Niagara’s dorsal behind her. Photo by Lucy Willis.

A big bushy blow from one of the Humpbacks! Photo by Lucy Willis.

T046B1 Tread and her youngest calf T046B1C. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T046B Raksha and her youngest calf T046B7. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T046B2B and T046B2 Akela. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T046B2 Akela with her 2023 calf T046B2B. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T046B2 Akela with T046B2B. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Perching cormorants. Photo by Lucy Willis.

Gulls with a pair of chicks! Photo by Lucy Willis.

Grayson amongst the brush. Photo by Lucy Willis.

Grayson coming in for a landing. Photo by Lucy Willis.

Jilann LechnerJuly 18, 2024WhalesComment