August 22, 2024, 8:30 am - A Sleepy Morning Charter!
We left the dock bright and early this morning, hoping to find some giants! As we made our way to north Nanaimo it was overcast, with the sun attempting to poke through the clouds. Cloudy days are fantastic for spotting whales. The contrasting white of the blow on the dark backdrop may as well be a flashing neon sign telling us “Here we are!” So it didn’t take long for us to find some humpbacks close to the harbour. Stingray (BCZ0409) and Stripe (BCZ0004) were spending a lot of time at the surface of the water and it became clear that these humpbacks were napping. Sometimes when humpbacks wake up they have a burst of energy, so we decided to stick around to see what they would do. Unfortunately, they were taking a very long nap and we eventually had to leave them.
Cetaceans sleep using one brain hemisphere at a time, a process called Unihemispheric Sleeping. This allows them to remain close to the surface, coming up for shallow breaths and remaining semi-alert. After sleeping for a while, they wake up and switch sides. However, this type of sleeping isn’t unique to whales! Pinnipeds in the Otariidae family, such as the Steller Sea Lions that frequent our waters, can adapt their sleeping based on where they are. While on land, they exhibit full, interconnected REM sleep, just like we do. However, on long trips out at sea, these furry friends can change to unihemispheric sleep, just like the whales do, to better adapt to their aquatic environment. Imagine if we could do this! For a deeper dive (ha!) into aquatic sleeping habits, check out this article.
After hanging out with our humpbacks, we got a report of orcas near Vancouver so we decided to make our way over. Our adventure paid off and we got to spend time with a small family, the T023Ds!
T023D Axle ♀ (1993)
T023D3 Robin ♂ (2012)
T023D4 Sixx (2015)
T023D5 (2019)
When we pulled up it was clear that these whales were at the start of a hunt. They were going back and forth and popping up in every direction! The orcas we encountered were a family we call “The Motley Crew” because several members are named after rock stars! Usually, this family travels with 3 generations, but today T023 Janice (Grandma) was missing. She hasn’t been spotted with her family since June. Hopefully, this separation is just temporary and we will see her once again. Janice is at least 60 years old and female orca tend to live between 50-80 years old.
We left the “Motley Crew” and crossed the Strait once more as we made our way to the sheltered waters of the Southern Gulf Islands. From here we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery while we dried off a bit from our adventure out in the Strait! We raced through the islands, trying to get back by 12:30 as there was a ferry that needed to be caught! Luckily our captain had impeccable timing and we pulled up to the dock just in time. To see photos from our adventure today, check out the pictures below.
All photos were taken by Naturalist Aly Kohlman.
Stingray fluking in the rain.
Stripe is at least 30 years old!
Stingray is easy to ID even without seeing her flukes because of her speckly skin.
Flukes up!
Strike fluking with a cargo ship in the background.
Stingray always brings her flukes out so high.
Axle and Robin surfacing with Vancouver in the background.
Hunting in the waves!