September 13, 2024, 10:30 am - T002Cs and T075Bs outside of Nanaimo and Wisp the Humpback

It was a overcast morning as we had two of our boats leaving Nanaimo on their Whale Watching adventure. We had a report close by, orca travelling south from Snake Island, so we headed over that way. By the time we caught up to them they were trolling the Gabriola Island shoreline, very close in. This is common to see from the Biggs, or Transient, orca since close to shore is where their food usually is. The shoreline provides shelter for the seals and sea lions in addition to being a place of rest for them. When orca are very close to shore, we assume they are trying to break up this rest for the pinnipeds by catching them unaware.
It seemed this theory was right today, as the whales seemed to go from travel to hunting mode as we arrived on scene with them. You can tell this from their behaviour, going from directional movement and a steady pace, to sticking around one area with a bunch of direction changes from the animals. As they were in the area we snapped some photos and were able to quickly ID these animals as the T002Cs and T075Bs travelling together!

T002C Tasu ♀ (1989)
T002C1 Rocky ♂ (2002)
T002C3 Lucy ♀ (2011)
T002C5 (2020)

T075B Pebbles ♀ (1995)
T075B2 Jasper ♀ (2015)
T075B3 Rubble ♂ (2017)
T075B4 (2021)

While they were hunting we were treated to some surface activity from the whales, including some tail slaps and a spy hop! Once the hunt concluded they continued their southern travels, breaking up into a few groups. We got to spend time with three members of the group from this point on, T002C1 Rocky, T00C3 Lucy, and T075B Pebbles. While the splashes can make it tough to capture the moments, watching the whales going through them is an amazing sight. You tend to see a bit more of the whale than usual as they get a little higher out of the water to breathe, and you can see more of their bodies in the troughs of the waves. It makes for some unique looks at them!

Eventually, it was time to leave the orca travelling and we headed over to a different blow that we spotted while with the orca, this time a humpback! It was a fluke that we recognized nearly immediately since they have been spending a lot of time around Nanaimo this year: Wisp (BCX1333calf2021). Wisp is a relatively young whale at only 3 years old. Humpback whales are thought to reach full size at around 10 years, and then they can live to be an estimated 60 - 80 years old! So Wisp will hopefully have a long life ahead of them. Wisp was focused on food when we first arrived, doing a couple of feeding dives, and circling the area, and then their behaviour changed to travel as they took off towards Gabriola Island. We left them to it, and continued heading south.

Our final destination was at Stinky Rock were we got to see the boisterous Steller Sea Lions fighting on the rocks and the much calmer Harbour Seals on the north end of the rocks. From there, we weaved through the Southern Gulf Islands, heading towards Nanaimo where the tour concluded. It was an amazing day spent with both species of whale! There were some great photos captured during the tour taken by Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster and Val Watson which you can view below!

T075B3 Rubble spy hopping during the hunt. Photo by Val Watson

T002C3 Lucy in the lead with T002C1 Rocky on her left and T075B Pebbles on her right. Photo by Val Watson

T002C3 Lucy, T075B Pebbles, and T002C1 Rocky together. Photo by Val Watson

T002C1 Rocky breaking through the wave. Photo by Val Watson

T075B Pebbles in front of T002C3 Lucy. Photo by Val Watson

T002C3 Lucy. Photo by Val Watson

T002C1 Rocky surfacing in front of Gabriola Island. Photo by Val Watson

T075B Pebbles moving through the waves. Photo by Val Watson

T002C1 Rocky showered in his own blow. Photo by Val Watson

T002C1 Rocky has a massive dorsal fin. Photo by Val Watson

Look at all the scars on T002C1 Rocky's saddle patch. Photo by Val Watson

T075B Pebbles in the lead followed by T002C1 Rocky. Photo by Val Watson

Look at how big T002C1 Rocky is! Photo by Val Watson

T002C1 Rocky surfacing in the waves with whale watchers on Cascadia looking on from ahead. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster

Whale Watchers on Kula with the orca. Photo by Val Watson

Wisp lifting their tail for a dive. Photo by Val Watson

The underside of Wisp's tail. Photo by Val Watson

Wisp starting to travel towards the shore. Photo by Val Watson

Wisp lifting their tail to dive. Photo by Val Watson

Wisp's tail dipping under the surface. Photo by Val Watson

Some side-eyes from the Harbour Seals at Stinky Rocks. Photo by Val Watson

Harbour Seals, Harlequin Ducks, and Gulls sharing the rocks. Photo by Val Watson

A trio of Harbour Seals, unbothered by our presence. Photo by Val Watson

The darkness around their eyes is from oil they secrete to help them see better! Photo by Val Watson

A cormorant flying by the Ducks. Photo by Val Watson

And landing with the other cormorants. Photo by Val Watson

Entrance Island Lighthouse. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster

A sleepy Steller Sea Lion male. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster

Look at all the sea lions piled on top of each other! Photo by Cheyenne Brewster. 

A river otter heading into the water from Stinky Rocks. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster. 

California Sea Lions hauled out on the log booms. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.