August 29, 2024, 3:30 pm - A family affair
The sun was shining and guests, were enthusiastic as we made our way out of the harbour. We don’t always know where we are going or what we are planning on seeing most days but today was an exception as we made our towards whales that we had seen on our morning tour! We cruised down Northumberland Channel and through Dodd Narrows into the Southern Gulf Islands. The water inside the islands was relatively flat and calm as we made our way towards 2 families of orcas hanging out together and socializing.
T023 Janice ♀ (≤1964)
T023D Axle ♀ (1993)
T023D3 Robin ♂ (2012)
T023D4 Sixx (2015)
T023D5 (2019)
T019 Nootka ♀ (≤1965)
T019B Galiano ♂ (1995)
T019C Spouter ♂ (2001)
In our area, we typically watch Bigg’s/Transient orcas. Bigg’s tend to travel in small matrilineal groups led by the eldest female. This usually means families consist of Mom and her kids. Males typically spend their entire lives with mom while females will leave when they have a calf or 2 of their own. T019 “Nootka” travels with her living children Spouter and Galiano. These impressive boys have travelled next to Mom for decades and sometimes we affectionately call her eldest (Galiano) “the ultimate mama’s boy” as he’s never far from mom. While we only saw 3 members of this family today, there is typically a 4th member which is Nootka’s mother Esperanza. Esperanza has no living sons to keep her company so she travels with her daughter instead. For whatever reason Esperanza was not with her family yesterday. Don’t worry though, she was spotted north of us in Campbell River alive and well so maybe she just needed a little grandma alone time!
Janice recently did something similar where she left her daughter and grandkids for a few days but has since returned. Janice and Nootka (the 2 matriarchs present today) are similar ages and it’s possible these ladies have been friends for a very long time. When transient orca families get together we call this a T-party and it’s a fantastic time for orca to socialize! Nootka’s eldest soon Galiano spent the entire day following around older female Janice. Just like us, orcas go through menopause around 40 years old so at 60+ Janice is post-reproductive. However, this doesn’t stop our grandma orca from having fun!
After hanging out with the orca we made our way out of Gabriola Pass to what we affectionately call “Stinky Rock” where Harbour Seals and Steller Sea Lions like to hang out. We were lucky enough that the tide wasn’t completely in allowing us to see both species there. From here we continued our journey into the Georgia Strait. The waters in the Strait are not as well protected as the Gulf Islands and un-surprisingly we faced a few waves out there! Even with some waves, we still managed to make it a double species day finding 2 humpbacks! These whales were Anvil (BCZ0410) and her 2024 calf who we refer to as “Rubber Ducky”. Unlike orcas, humpbacks do not travel in family groups. Anvil’s calf will only be with her for around a year before eventually setting off on their own. Anvil will teach the calf all it needs to learn in that time including how and where to feed as well as how to migrate to and from the breeding grounds. Humpbacks will typically return to the same area that their mothers taught them to feed and we can’t wait to watch Rubber Ducky grow up!
To see photos from our tour, check out the pictures below! Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Lucy Willis.
T019 Nootka coming up for a breath. Photo by Aly Kohlman
A scenic view watching orca. Photo by Aly Kohlman
T023 Janice is the matriarch of her family. Photo by Aly Kohlman
T023D Axle and T019 Nootka hanging out. Photo by Aly Kohlman
T023 Janice is named after Janice Joplin! Photo by Aly Kohlman
T019C Spouter is the youngest member of his family. Photo by Aly Kohlman
All the T23Ds from left to right: T023 Janice, T023D Axle, T23D5, T023D3 Robin and T023D4 Sixx.
Brothers T019B Galiano and T019C Spouter.
T023 Janice surfacing before the rest of the party. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Spouter coming up for a breath. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Galiano is 29 years old! Photo by Lucy Willis
T023Ds sandwiched between the T019 brothers. Photo by Lucy Willis
Anvil surfacing. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Anvil’s calf appears to have some sort of skin issue. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Anvil and her calf surfacing together. Photo by Aly Kohlman
In this photo you can see a large circular scar from when Anvil was satellite tagged. Photo by Lucy Willis
Steller sea lions fighting for a spot on the rocks. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Steller sea lions enjoying the sun. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Steller sea lion with an itch that needs scratching. Photo by Aly Kohlman
A harbour seal resting. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Tug Boat pulling a log boom. Photo by Aly Kohlman
Guests enjoying the orca on Keta. Photo by Aly Kohlman