March 14, 2025 - T019s and T049As hunting in Pylades Channel
After getting cozy in our seats aboard our semi-covered vessel Kula we left the dock and started our day’s adventure. We have had lots of luck in our southern range lately, so we made our way that way!
While we made our way through Dodd Narrows, there were several sea lions swimming in the current, likely keeping an eye out for their next meal. After crossing we headed towards Gabriola’s coastline and began scanning the horizon.
Turns out this was the perfect place to start our search, as we found 8 orca excitedly travelling together close to Gabriola’s shore! They were zig-zagging around, but after a few quick snaps we recognized these whales as the T019s and T049As:
T019 Nootka ♀ (~1965)
T019B Galiano ♂ (1995)
T019C Spouter ♂ (2001)
T049A Nan ♀ (1986)
T049A3 Nat ♂ (2011)
T049A4 Neptune ♂ (2014)
T049A5 Nebula ♀ (2017)
T049A6 Charlie II ♂ (2022)
Frequent ‘swimmers’ in our area, we always love seeing these pods around. Galiano’s huge leaning dorsal fin has become one of the most iconic fins in the Salish Sea, and Spouter’s tall and tapered fin is always a sight to behold as well.
While the action had already died down when we got on scene, we are quite confident they had an intense hunt just beforehand. A couple of the whales were sporting very fresh wounds, likely from a Steller sea lion fighting back. These wounds when fresh can appear reddish pink or white, depending on how deep they are. While they will likely heal, chances are they will scar, leading to new markings for us to use to identify individuals. We also believe they were successful, as the pod members were happily breaching (jumping out of the water), tail slapping, and spy hopping - likely celebrating the good meal.
We have encountered these matrilines travelling together before. Are they best friends? Are they potentially getting together to mate? We don’t know, but we are very curious to see if we will see a new bouncing baby in the T049A family in the next year!
Seeing the (relatively) tiny matriarchs travelling beside the massive males is always amazing. Nan will eventually have FIVE sons the size of Galiano and Spouter - granted, two of them are known to travel away from the pod, but if they do all come together for a family reunion, it will sure be amazing to see!
The whales weren’t our only stop for wildlife though! Once we left we headed out into the Strait of Georgia and stopped by one of our favourite haulouts - Stinky Rocks! While this may seem like a silly name, if you join us for a trip and we end up downwind from our sea lions, you will quickly learn why it earned its nickname. Our Steller sea lions were spending the afternoon lounging around in the sun, occasionally getting up to scratch or yawn.
As we made our way back towards Nanaimo we took in the amazing scenery of the Southern Gulf Islands. The thick forests and rocky shores of the islands are always breathtaking views, even when there is no wildlife around!
This trip’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalist Val Watson - please enjoy!
T019 Nootka racing along the rocky shore.
T049A3 Nat behind one of the younger whales.
T019C Spouter’s giant dorsal towering over two other whales.
T049A5 Nebula sporting some new scars from the sea lion brawl!
The matriarchs - T019 Nootka and T049A Nan.
T049A6 Charlie II (with his distinct flat face out of the water), T049A Nan, and T019 Nootka.
T049A Nan cruising by.
Adult male T019C Spouter beside starting-to-sprout male T049A3 Nat.
Similar to Nebula, T019 Nootka also appeared to have some fresh battle scars.
T019B Galiano going down for a dive.
A tail of one of the whales also showing fresh injuries from the sea lion battle.
A tale of two brothers! T019C Spouter in the back, T019B Galiano in the front.
A big tail slap!
T019C Spouter - besides having a very tall and straight dorsal, Spouter also has a large dent in the right side as seen here that we can use to identify him.
T019B Galiano - the T019s seem to have a history of getting into scuffles, judging by Galiano’s dorsal!
T019 Nootka - an experienced matriarch with lots of scars to show it!
T049A Nan also sporting new wounds.
T049A4 Neptune diving.
T049A3 Nat.
Our sea lions regularly cuddle up together like this when it is cold to conserve body heat.
A blep from one of the sea lions!
Treading water and making way to the next meal!
Surf’s up!
A cozy seal in the surf.
A gull being fluffed up by the wind.