August 26, 2024, 10:30 am - A T-party with a bowl of Humpback Soup!

It was an overcast West coast day, so we decided to pop over and search the Sunshine coast! This was a fantastic idea, we were not expecting to find as many whales as we did. We happened to come across what we call a T-party! This is when multiple pods of Transient Orca come together to socialize, hunt and potentially mate. The Orca at this T-party were:

T023 Janice ♀ (≤1964)
T023D Axle ♀ (1993)
T023D3 Robin ♂ (2012)
T023D4 Sixx (2015)
T023D5 (2019)

T036 Flapjack ♀ (≤1970)
T036B Tattertip ♀ (1998)
T036B1 Bhotia ♀ (2009)
T036B2 Greenfelder ♀ (2013)
T036B4 (2024)

T049A Nan ♀ (1986)
T049A1 Noah ♂ (2001)
T049A3 Nat ♂ (2011)
T049A4 Neptune ♂ (2014)
T049A5 Nebula ♀ (2017)
T049A6 (2022)

T099 Bella ♀ (~1984)
T099B Holly ♀ (2007)
T099C Barakat ♂ (2009)
T099D Puck ♂ (2015)
T099E ♀ (2021)

T137 Loon ♀ (~1984)
T137A Jack ♂ (2002)
T137B Tempest ♀ (2006)
T137D Wright ♀ (2012)

We were so privileged to be able to witness such a spectacular display of activity, we had tail slapping, spy-hopping and porpoising from this excited group of Orca today! Our luck did not stop there, we spotted some big tall blows not too far from the party. We had what we like to call Humpback soup, this is where we encountered a problem. We didn’t know where to look, there were too many whales around us, I guess it was a pretty great problem to have! The Humpbacks present were Prowler (BCX1660), Zorro (BCX0380), Raptor (BCY0458) and calf, Malachite (BCX1210 calf 2021) and Vanta (BCX1730).

A question that comes up a lot for us is what happens when the Orca and Humpbacks are in the same area. This is a great question as the Humpbacks are potential prey for the mammal-eating Orca, like our Transients. More often than not they ignore each other and continue on their separate ways. To this day there has not been a successful hunt on a Humpback documented in our waters. The theories why are interesting. When the Humpbacks arrive from their breeding grounds with their calves these calves have put on a lot of size, growing approximately a foot a month on the way to us, this making them a much tougher target than when freshly born. We also know the Humpbacks are built for fight not flight, they are big and robust and not pushovers. This leads to the theory that the Orca have so much other prey abundantly available like the harbour seals, harbour porpoises, sea lions and dolphins that they do not need to expend the energy it would take to hunt a humpback although it would be a high reward meal.

These are just theories so it is possible that with the growth of both species populations, we will see more interactions between our Humpbacks and Orca. The Orca have been documented hunting other large whales in our waters, and this time it was successful. On at least two occasions the Orca have triumphantly hunted a Minke Whale. The Minke is built for flight not fight, but the way the Orca hunt them would be the same idea. The Orca form a pack just like wolves and will take turns chasing and resting while pursuing the larger whale, when the Minke starts to lose stamina and become exhausted is when they will move in for the kill, they come together and continue to jump on the now tired and struggling whale preventing it from surfacing to breath finally drowning it. This would indeed be both thrilling and tough to watch unfold, but we need to remember: no good, no bad, just nature!

After all the excitement around us, it was time to head back to port, with grins on our faces from a lucky day in the Salish Sea we returned! There were some amazing photos captured by the onboard Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman, Cheyenne Brewster, and Des Poier of both the Humpback and Orca today which can be enjoyed below.

A Great Blue Heron on the docks before boarding. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A low fluke from Prowler. Photo by Des Poier.

The T036s! T036B Tattertip on the left, T036 Flapjack, T036B4 together. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A close look at T036B4. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Two of he Matriarchs present: T137 Loon and T049A Nan. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

The T023Ds surfacing together.  Photo by Aly Kohlman.

From left to right, T036B2 Greenfelder, T036B1 Bhotia, T036 Flapjack, T036B Tattertip, and another in the front. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T036 Flapjack surfacing just behind her daughter, T036B Tattertip. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T099C Barakat surfacing in front of T049A Nan and her youngest T049A6 Charlie II. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T049A1 Noah surfacing in front of others in the rain. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A great look at T099C Barakat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T049A1 Noah. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T099C Barakat surfacing in the rain. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T137B Tempest on the left of her brother T137A Jack. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T049A1 Noah swimming away from the boat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Thanks to the camera zoom, we can see all the scarring on T049A1 Noah's saddle patch. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Two notched ladies, T099B Holly and T137D Wright. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A couple of younger whales playing in the party. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T099C Barakat surfacing next o T023 Janice/Warmsprings. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

T049A3 Nat. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

A trio of boys travelling together: T049A3 Nat, T099C Barakat, and T137A Jack. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T065A5 Indy surfacing behind T023 Janice. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T099C Barakat surfacing to the right of T065A5 Indy. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T099C Barakat beside (likely Indy) splashing their tail. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T049A3 Nat surfacing. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A1 Noah surfacing in the calm water. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A3 Nat surfacing with a rocky shoreline of Bowen Island behind. Photo by Des Poier.

T036B4 flicking their tail behind mom, T036B Tattertip. Photo by Des Poier.

T065A5 Indy surfacing ahead of one of the other boys, sideways. Photo by Des Poier.

A great look at T023 Janice with T065A5 Indy close behind. Photo by Des Poier.

T099D Puck creating a wave as he surfaces. Photo by Des Poier.

Always lots of action in a T-party like this! Photo by Des Poier.

T137A Jack. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A3 Nat surfacing in front of T137A jack. Photo by Des Poier.

A look up T049A3 Nat's blow hole as he surfaces on top of T137A jack.Photo by Des Poier.

T049A3 Nat with (maybe Jack's?) tail in front of him. Photo by Des Poier.

One of the boy's tail (likely Jack). Photo by Des Poier.

T137A Jack is an impressive boy. Photo by Des Poier.

T0137A jack dipping below the surface with T049A3 Nat in front of him. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A Nan surfacing. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A3 Nat in front of his mom, T049A Nan. Photo by Des Poier.

T049A Family photo with T049A6 Charlie, T049A3 Nat, T049A4 Nebula, and T049A Nan. Photo by Des Poier.

Zorro lifting his tail to dive. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Zoro is missing half of his tail. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Zorro's dorsal fin. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Raptor's dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

The dorsal fin of Raptors calf. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Raptor's dorsal fin. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

The underside of Malachite's tail as he dove. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

The underside of Vanta's tail. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Happy whale watchers on Keta with T049A3 Nat in the distance. Photo by Des Poier.

Happy whale watchers on Kula. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.