Latest Sightings

The majority of sightings continue to be Humpback whales found in inland waters. Earlier in the week, a Humpback whale was found to be tangled up in some fishing gear off of Kinghorn Island in Desolation Sound and authorities were able to locate it and free it within a few hours. It is hoped that…
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Transient Orca, which eats mammals like seals and dolphins, were observed on successive days in three different areas. Last Thursday, Transient Orca were observed in Discovery Passage off Campbell River and in Menzies Bay, where they were seen hunting Dall’s porpoise. These Orca work cooperatively and are stealthy when hunting, which is a rare occurance…
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This report covers sightings between August 20th to the 22nd, with the majority of sightings being Humpback whales. However, many of Humpbacks have moved from the upper Georgia Strait and lower Sutil Channel area towards the area between Powell River and Comox. Transient (Biggs) Orca have been observed in some of the same areas where…
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Although some Orca reports have been coming in from the upper Johnstone Strait for Northern Resident Orca and a few Transient Biggs passing through and around the upper Georgia Strait, Humpback Whales seem to be the primary sightings reports. As of writing this, today’s count is up to 20 Humpbacks spread out in numbers ranging…
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Many pods of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins have been observed over the past few days in Johnstone Strait, Nodales Channel, and Discovery Passage. Both types of Orca have been reported. Transient (Biggs) Orca were seen off of Comox and in Howe Sound. The Northern Resident Orca made a rare foray last Monday all the way to…
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Humpback Whales continue to remain in the area and are spread out from the northern part of Georgia Strait up through Sutil Channel and Calm Channel. Many of them are solitary while others have formed small groups of 2-4 animals or even larger groups of 5-8 animals. A variety of behaviours have been displayed by…
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Humpback Whales are still the majority of our sightings reports as they spread out and group together for cooperative feeding and socializing. They still manage to stay mostly away from any of the Transient Biggs Orca that have also been through the inner waters. Northern Resident Orca made their way into Johnstone Strait to rub…
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This was a nailbiter, but the good news is that one of our favourite Humpback Whales ‘KC’ was finally found after a couple of days searching and looking back at his track through our Maps Archive for most likely locations to search. Did you realize that you can track animals too?! He was found at…
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In between finalizing this Sightings issue, we have also been assisting the whale disentanglement team through Dept. of Fisheries ensuring they have updated information on the extremely well known Humpback Whale known as Kelp Creature or ‘KC’ for short who spends much of his time in the Discovery Pass – Sutil Channel area. He had…
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Transient Bigg’s Killer Whales grouped up in some larger numbers for a brief visit, and just as quickly departed. Some of them are roaming the inlets in the upper Georgia Strait, still keeping their distance from the Humpback Whales, of which we still have many. Pacific White Sided Dolphins have been seen in groups of…
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It was exciting to be able to confirm our first Orca sighting from our live streaming Real Time Monitoring Station. The link is in our Society News. The T101 family were breaching and appeared to be sharing a meal. The other family of Bigg’s in this report are our ‘resident’ Transient Biggs known as the…
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Humpback Whales have been breaching all over the place. The photos in this issue show some of them. Having this many in the upper Georgia Strait is truly unprecidented. A few taking a snooze at the surface put themselves in danger with all the speeding unattentive boats around. We can’t stress the need for boaters…
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The Northern Resident Killer Whales of the family pod known as the A30s stayed around the top of Johnstone Strait for a few days. Transient Bigg’s Orca, our affectionately called “resident” Transients, known at the T002Cs were seen around the Comox area and presumably were the same family pod that popped up only to disappear…
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Humpback Whales are everywhere! Amazing numbers of these large cetaceans are foraging in the waterways around Quadra, Cortez and Mitlenatch Islands. The food is more plentiful there and in inlets farther above Desolation Sound. Malaspina Strait which runs between Texada and the Mainland past Powell River has seen few cetaceans. Fishing by draggers may have…
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Our first Live streaming Real Time Monitoring Station is up and running! See Society News below for details. Humpback Whales have been around in large numbers between Campbell River and Lund with a few up Lewis Channel. Estimated count in one day is between 15 to 18 individuals. WOW! Talk about a comeback. Some of…
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Transient Bigg’s Orca including T063, well known as Chainsaw, T065s and T002Cs all got together briefly between Quadra and Cortez Islands. T065s including T063 are more frequent visitors to the Oregon coast than our inside waters. T002Cs are regulars to our upper Georgia Strait area and frequently stay for long periods of time. The family…
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A few Transient Bigg’s Orca have been spotted in the upper Georgia Strait through Discovery Passage, but have once again been extremely elusive to those keeping eyes out for them. They seem to be here then nowhere to be seen. Humpback Whales, on the other hand, have been foraging around the Cape Mudge to Mitlenatch…
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Humpback Whales are back and forth around Cape Mudge and a few decent size groups of Harbour Porpoise are still staying together in the upper Georgia Strait. The Orca we usually see in the upper strait have been very ellusive with minimal sightings this past week and everyone wondering where they may have gone to.…
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Humpback Whales continue to work their way into the inside waters between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Of course, KC and his sister Arial have met up again this year putting on some fancy shows for many whale watching enthusiasts. Fully expect to see, or at least hear about their Mom, Houdini soon. She earned…
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Many Transient Bigg’s Orca have been mostly staying in the upper reaches of Georgia Strait and into various channels and inlets with some being spotted transitting the lower strait. The lone male Bigg’s made his way into Sechelt Inlet then back up the strait. Most Pacific White Sided Dolphins appear to be staying clear with…
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Our Sightings Reports have now moved to weekly publishing with the onset of better weather. Transient Bigg’s Orca have been teaching their young various hunting practices. Their primary source of food is meat such as seals, sealions, and other small Cetaceans. As they pass through, they usually take and feed on these animals, but they…
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Humpback Whales are finally reappearing in the our inside waters as they work to feed on some of the herring that’s been spotted in various areas including one staying in Howe Sound. Our regular Humpback visitor known as ‘KC’ which is short for Kelp Creature is back to cruising close around Campbell River and Brown’s…
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Harbour porpoises have appeared in greater numbers in upper Georgia Strait and in Howe Sound. Normally, Harbour porpoises travel in groups of 2 to 6 but over the past two weeks, some have appeared in groups larger than 10 animals which makes it easier to spot them. On April 21, eight pods of Harbour porpoises…
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Killer Whales are popping up appear in a variety of places including Howe Sound. They are mostly Transient Bigg’s, the meat eaters following other prey, such as Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Porpoise. A few reports from the lower parts of Georgia Strait are possibly Southern Resident Orca, but without confirmation, we must categorize them…
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Seeing Transient Bigg’s Orca on the mainland side of upper Georgia Strait was a real treat as they played and shared their food in front of the many vehicles that tend to stop by the shore to enjoy them. This pod has a very young calf with another juvenile that looks less than a year…
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Fleeting glimpses through inclement weather of cetacean species provides us with a short sightings report this issue. The report still manages to cover Orca, Humpback Whales, Pacific White Sided Dolphins and a large group of Harbour Porpoise. The whales, dolphins and porpoise are out there, but have not been easy to spot. We are overdue…
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Minke Whales are a species throughout our coastal waters, but not often seen as they transit inside waters. Their streamlined body allows them to travel great distances after a couple of breaths making them harder to spot, so it’s great to have reports on them. Southern Resident Orca seem to be staying below Nanaimo in…
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Orca sightings are back in the forefront and they seem to be spotted most often when there have been Pacific White Sided Dolphins in the area. These sightings have not included any major chasing or hunting of the Dolphins this time though, but the Dolphins are not seen travelling with the Orca, so odds are…
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Pacific White Sided Dolphins are the majority of this report as they travel in larger groups leaping and splashing. Other Whales have been slipping by as they do long dives and people miss seeing them or only get a brief glimpse. They are still around throughout our waters though, and sometimes it’s just luck in…
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After the flurry of activity in our last report, the Pacific White Sided Dolphins seem to have regrouped into slightily smaller groups and have been reported foraging and moving quickly, with no confirmed evidence of them being chased by Bigg`s Killer Whales. But some of the Killer Whales, although being seen in a few areas,…
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