September 13, 2024, 3:30 pm - Sea Lion Harassment by the T002Cs and T075Bs

Another exciting day awaited us, as we had two of our vessels returning for the afternoon to start searching the Salish Sea. Both boats started the search through Northumberland Channel, through Dodd Narrows, and among the Southern Gulf Islands. The plan was to hopefully find the same group of orca that we had watched this morning, but we weren’t exactly sure where they were. None of our whales are tagged or tracked outside of visually, so there are large portions of the day where we have no idea where they are. Well, almost no idea. Based on their last known direction and average speed we figured they would be around Porlier Pass, but we didn’t know if they would be on the inside of the islands or on the outside. We were joined in our search by another Vancouver-based vessel, who ended up finding them about where we expect, just outside of Porlier Pass. It was indeed the same whales as the morning: 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 about where we expected, they were going the wrong way! We figured they were going to keep heading south, but they had doubled back and were going north again. We stuck with them as they made their way back along Valdes Island until they got somewhere interesting: Stinky Rock! You might recognize this as the place that we typically stop at to see the Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) during our tours. This makes it a potential orca smorgasbord. We waited to see what would happen, if anything, during this interaction and sure enough, the orca made a run at the rafting sea lions near the rocks. It was a game of chicken, with the Steller Sea Lions having a large group and willing to fight the Orca that were testing the waters. It was a great testament to the idea of “safety in numbers” as we couldn’t see a successful hunt take place. Usually hunting a sea lion is a big ordeal since they are so large, so it should have been obvious if one started. The Harbour Seals further down on the other hand may not have been as lucky, as we saw some gulls coming in to take some of the leftovers away. Since the Harbour Seals are much smaller they can be hunted much faster and without as many obvious signs of it. The other sign that they may have been successful is the short celebration that took place, with some happy-looking activity from the whales.

In addition to the hunting orca today, both boats also got to spend time with a pair of humpback whales; Kappa (BCX1058) and Split Fluke (BCX1068). These two have been associating with each other for a day now since they were seen together yesterday as well. While we can’t 100% confirm that they have been together this whole time, the likelihood is quite high. Especially with female humpbacks, which both of these whales are confirmed to be, the associations tend to be more long-term, lasting for days or even sometimes weeks. These two were circling the area right outside Porlier Pass, presumably feeding in the area. They were lifting their flukes high out of the water making figuring out who they were much easier. Split Fluke is named for the split in the left side of her tail, possibly occurring from an orca attack earlier in her life. Kappa on the other hand sports no scars from orca, just lots from other means like barnacles. We don’t know how she got her namesake scar, a “k” on her left fluke, but it also makes her very easy to identify! As a break from all the feeding, these two ladies got a bit playful at the surface just before we left them, with Split Fluke doing a cartwheel basically right on top of Kappa! We aren’t sure why she would do this, but it was interesting to see nonetheless.

Eventually we left them to it, and both boats continued back through the Southern Gulf Islands until they found themselves back at home in Nanaimo. It was a very special trip spent with all the various wildlife! Photos from today were captured by the onboard Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster and Val Watson.

T002C Tasu and T002C5 travelling together in the rain. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T002C1 Rocky's big fin next to younger T075B2 Fifi. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T002C1 Rocky with T075B3 Rubble and another Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Gulls acting as clean up crew. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T075B2 Fifi. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T002C1 Rocky. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T075B4 surfacing next to mom, T075B Pebbles. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

T075B4 surfacing in the waves. Photo by Val Watson.

T002C1 Rocky travelling the Valdes shoreline. Photo by Val Watson.

A scared raft of sea lions being tested by the orca. Can you spot the dorsal fin? Photo by Val Watson.

T075B Pebbles along the haul out site. Photo by Val Watson.

T075B Pebbles trying for a snack. Photo by Val Watson.

Some very concerned looking Harbour Seals. Photo by Val Watson.

T075B along the shoreline. Photo by Val Watson.

Harbour Seals. Photo by Val Watson.

Red Necked Phalarope in the rain. Photo by Val Watson.

Kappa's dorsal fin with Split Fluke rolling beside her. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Kappa lifting her tail for a dive. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

The underside of Kappa's Tail. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Split Fluke's dorsal fin. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Kappa's dorsal on the left and the edge of Split Flukes tail on the right. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

The top of Split Flukes tail as she dives. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Kappa going for a dive. Photo by Val Watson.

Kappa diving with something brewing beside her. Photo by Val Watson.

Kappa diving with Split Fluke cartwheeling behind her. Photo by Val Watson.

Split Fluke's cartwheel moving a lot of water. Photo by Val Watson.

Kappa with a very high fluke. Photo by Val Watson.

A double fluke with Split Fluke (right) and Kappa (left). Photo by Val Watson.