July 21, 2024, 10:30 am - A humpback kind of morning!
At the start of our trips, it is common for our boats to split up to cover as much ground as possible to maximize our chances of seeing whales. Whoever finds whales first will then contact the other boats in the fleet to update them. Today, however, our boats ended up watching two separate trios of humpbacks as they both found whales around the same time!
Our open vessel Cascadia located Valiant (BCX1773), Niagara (BCY0057), and an unknown travelling together near Halibut Bank. These three were travelling closely together and were busy fluking away. Associating in small groups like this can benefit some feeding techniques such as bubble net feeding or trap feeding.
Our semi-covered vessel Kula found Prowler (BCX1660), Beak (BCX1606), and Yakima (BCX2182) also associating - or at least they were at the start! While they were close together when we first approached they split up shortly after and all took off in their own directions. Humpback social structure is still a concept that is pretty foreign to scientists, so we never really know what is going through their heads when they change behaviours like this.
Once our boats departed their separate humpback encounters they met back up and got together to see two other humpbacks! These whales were Split Fluke (BCX1068) and an unknown. These two were very active. We saw them breaching (jumping out of the water) and pectoral slapping. Pec slapping is an interesting behaviour where the whales will bring their giant side fins up and out of the water, slapping them on the top of the water. There is a lot of speculation as to why they pec slap, including:
Communication: Those pec fins make a loud slap on the top of the water.
Removing parasites: With a powerful slap some barnacles and whale lice may be sluffed off.
Playing: It may just be a fun way to burn some extra calories!
Whatever the reasons they do it, we love to see it! These impressive pec fins tower out of the water measuring one-third of the humpback’s body, or about 16 feet! After getting to see what the pec slapping is all about we moved on to meet some other beloved wildlife. We stopped for a visit with out Harbour Seals and their big cousins the Steller Sea Lions, both species doing a lot of cuddling today. We call these cuddle puddles and it is difficult to resist moving in for a snuggle ourselves, good thing the smell makes us keep our distance! A family of River Otters were spotted playing along the shore, they spotted us and had a look back! We also must mention all the birds we spotted on tour today, a majestic Blue Haron, the Turkey Vultures and Bald eagles were sitting down for a meal and an Osprey soared through the trees near Dodd narrows! Enjoy the photos from today’s tour below.
Photos by Marine Naturalists Des Poier and Aly Kohlman.
Yakima splashing away! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Slice’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Slice surfacing in behind Beak. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Slice in behind Beak. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Beak, can you spot the marking that looks like a beak? Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Prowler fluking. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Pecs up! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Niagara, can you spot the waterfall? Photo by Des Poier.
Valiant’s scared up fluke. Photo by Des Poier.
A beautiful tail with a beautiful background. Photo by Des Poier.
It’s like the whale is pointing out the scenery! Photo by Des Poier.
Whale hello there! Photo by Des Poier.
A fluke waterfall. Photo by Des Poier.
Rolling in the deep. Photo by Des Poier.
Multiple pec slaps. Photo by Des Poier.
Split Fluke, can you see the split? Photo by Des Poier.
A cuddly baby harbour seal. Photo by Des Poier.
Mom and pup. Photo by Des Poier.
A kiss! Photo by Des Poier.
Every different pose! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A nap among the stars! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Great Blue Heron. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
River Otter family. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Taking a peek at us. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Bald Eagles with a Turkey Vulture on the left eating a snack. Photo by Des Poier.
The Turkey vulture buffet with an eagle waiting for a bite as well. Photo by Des Poier.
Steller Sea Lions posing on the rocks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Might as well use your friend as a bed. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The friend looks very impressed. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Can you spot the Osprey? Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Taking off! Photo by Aly Kohlman.