Lunge Feeding Humpback Whales

Whales lunge feeding is always a spectacular sight. As the whales forage for food they work at forming schools of tiny shrimp-like krill or small fish, such as herring or caplin. Their prey, grouping together gives the whale, or whales who frequently work together, a perfect opportunity to lunge up and through the school. Taking a huge mouthful of water with their food, their ventril pleats expand to support the volume in their mouth. They push the water out through their baleen which functions as a strainer keeping their food in their mouth ready to swallow. Let us know if you see them and other species of Cetaceans!

As a reminder that if you are boating and out on the water, please be aware of the presence of whales and dolphins. Signs of their presence may include blows of the Cetaceans and other boats stopped or moving slowly in an area. Boats and other water craft (e.g. kayaks) must remain at least 1-km away from Southern Resident Orca and at least 200-m away from other Orca (Transients and Northern Residents). See the full government regulation in the following paragraph.

The Federal Government (DFO) issued the following statement about watching Orca in the wild: “Keep 1,000 metres away from Southern Resident killer whales in southern B.C. coastal waters between Campbell River and just north of Ucluelet. Keep 200 metres away from all other killer whales in British Columbia (B.C.) and the Pacific Ocean”. A minimum distance of 200-m must be maintained when viewing any Cetaceans that are resting or with a calf. When viewing whales, dolphins, and porpoises under other circumstances not described above, a minimum distance of 100-m must be kept. A great resource for up to date Canadian or US regulations: Be Whale Wise Guidelines.

WOWs works throughout the year, so please continue to keep your eyes open, and report your sightings to us.