It was another great day getting to spend time on the Salish Sea. There were lots of humpbacks around this morning, so we were hoping to find more of them for the afternoon. While we are constantly searching for anything that might pop up along the way, the most common cetacean that we have been seeing lately is the humpback whale.

Part of this is due to their large size, making them relatively easy to spot on the water than some of the smaller whales in the area. With our eyes peeled, we headed into the Strait of Georgia and didn’t have to travel for long before we found signs of whales not too far from the boat; Blows! We recognized the shape as being humpback blows and had this confirmed when we saw them arch their back, lifting their 20-foot tails out of the water. Each of our boats actually found its own pair of whales, which they took turns watching.

Having them lift their tails up to dive under the water for food made figuring out who these humpback duos were nice and easy. One pair was Beak (BCX1606) and Mammoth (BCX1710) travelling closely together, and the other was a pair we have been seeing a lot lately: Crater/Mensa (BCX1565) and Smiley (BCY0995)!

All four of these whales seemed to be focused on one thing: food! We saw them come up to the surface a few times to catch their breath before they lifted their tails and sunk back beneath the surface. When they are spending time in our waters they are doing their best to gain as much weight as possible. They spend the majority of their time feeding while they are in BC, with some breaks for rest and socialization. Getting fattened up over the summer is super important since they need to have energy reserves via fat cells for when they are down in their breeding/calving grounds. Since there isn’t very much food for them when they are down in either Hawaii or Mexico over our winter months, they depend on that fat to power their movements and give them energy.

Especially for males, they need a lot of energy while they are down there, given they will be competing for the lady whales attention through surface activities and song. They have been recorded singing for nearly 24 hours straight while down there, and their songs can change slightly as time goes on. These songs combined with a strong surface behaviour may be a powerful aphrodisiac for a female humpback whale, as she chooses a mate after these activities to have a calf with.

Since humpback calves are huge and very dependent on their mother within the first year, they have only been recorded with a single calf at a time. Most often humpbacks will have a calf every 2-3 years. Interestingly, these two pairs seem to be male-female pairing with Mammoth and Smiley both confirmed female, and Beak being confirmed male. Since Crater has been seen in this area for over a decade without a calf, there are suspicions that they may be male, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet. Time will tell!

We left these whales to their fun and started to head towards an area we like to call “Stinky Rocks” thanks to the pinnipeds that call it home. On the way there though, we were interrupted in our travels again by the sight of blows on the horizon. This time it was a trio of humpbacks spending time together, all of them young whales. We had Wisp (BCX1333calf2021), Malachite (BCX1210calf2021), and Mow (BCY0523calf2023)! These three were also travelling in very close proximity to each other. Similar to the other whales, they seemed to be feeding in the area. We even got a peak into the diet of these whales through a very exciting means, poop! As we watched one of the whales lift their tail and dive, we noticed some red colouration in the water. This is nothing to be concerned about, it’s what their poop looks like!

This particular poop was very chunky and red, a good indication that they currently have a lot of krill in their diet. Although whales are giant, they eat tiny things, using their baleen plates to push the water out leaving only the yummy critters behind. The pink/red colour comes from the exoskeletons of the animals that don’t get fully digested by the humpbacks.

We spent some time with these two whales before continuing to Stinky Rocks, getting a great look at the Steller Sea Lions and Harbour Seals that were hanging out on the rocky shore. After Stinky, we stuck to the Strait side of the Southern Gulf Islands on our way back to Nanaimo, and wouldn’t you know it, there were more blows! It was another pair of humpback whales, Graze (BCY0523) and Mantis (BCX0936). These two were surfacing together with the blows bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. We couldn’t stay too long, but the few surfaces we spent with them were very beautiful.

Finally, after a quick stop at the Gabriola Bluffs for a look at the nesting Cormorants, we returned to the Nanaimo Harbour. It was an amazing day spent with all the humpback whales and other wildlife. Our onboard marine naturalists Aly Kohlman and Vanessa Vereschahen captured some amazing photos of these encounters which can be viewed below!

August 10, 2024, 3:30 pm - Time spent with Humpback Whales near Gabriola Island

© Vancouver Island Whale Watch 2018-2024. All Rights Reserved.