Cover Image: Humpback showing off it’s fluke whilst travelling north Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Over the past few weeks, a few Humpback whales were observed. As the spring season becomes warmer and warmer, more Humpbacks will appear in upper Georgia Strait and inland waterways. Some of them may be mother…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Spring has arrived and with warmer temperatures comes abundance of life. The number of sightings of Cetaceans has increased during the past few weeks. Many pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were spotted, with some pods numbering around 50 members. These dolphins swim really fast…
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Cover Image: Orca blowing at sunset Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC During the past two weeks, the majority of reports we received were sightings of Transient Orca. Many appeared around West Thurlow Island near the east end of Johnstone Strait. Some of the pods of Orca were observed near Campbell River and others near Powell…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales near Quadra Island Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Over the past few weeks, there were many sightings of Transient Orca spanning from Nanoose Bay and Powell River up to the eastern end of Johnstone Strait. On March 6, there were many pods of Transient Orca…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins near Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC World Whale Day is on Sunday, February 22. It is a day to appreciate all Cetaceans and their importance in the ecosystems around the world. As top predators of food chains, they feed on various fish and lower carnivores. In addition,…
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Cover Image: Orca blowing at sunset! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC In the second half of January, Transient Orca and Northern Resident Orca were observed in a number of areas. On the morning of January 25, a group of 8-10 Transient Orca made their way into Indian Arm in North Vancouver. This group was then…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale Breaching Jess Cavanagh, Blind Channel Resort The New Year has begun with sightings of Cetaceans around various inland waterways. Transient Orca were observed in many locations, from the east end of Johnstone Strait all the way down to Nanaimo and in Howe Sound near Squamish. Orca were seen breaching…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales surfacing together Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC There have been sightings of Cetaceans around Powell River, Comox, in Discovery Passage, and in the eastern half of Johnstone Strait. Transient Orca were observed in a number of locations, and at least two sightings included mother and calf pairs. A few…
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Cover Image: Killer Whale blowing off Grief Point Park Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Some of the Northern Resident Orca made a short appearance off of Powell River on December 5 and it is uncertain which direction they went afterwards as no other sightings of them have been reported. There have been a few sightings…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale T101 and her 2 boys T101A and T101B Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback whale sightings still are the number one reported species with a number of them showing up together. This is similar to last year when we had them still in numbers in…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales surfacing together! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Eventhough we are into the colder and wetter months of the year, there are still Cetaceans in the coastal waters of British Columbia but probably it is a bit more challenging to see due to the weather and…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale in Sutil Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback whales are large whales, reaching lengths of up to 16-m (55 feet). One can see and realize how large they are when they expose their whole body as they breach. If you are on a boat and a…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales travelling under a rainbow! Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Once in a while, one may be lucky enough to capture a picture of a moment with a Cetacean. It may be with dolphins bow-riding next to your boat or a humpback whale breaching close by. Orca…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale in Georgia Strait Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Looking at Humpback whale pectoral flipper from a distance it’s difficult to realize how big they are. These limbs are one third the length of the whale, and can be up to fifteen feet (4.6 metres) long for a…
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Cover Image: A humpback investigating some sealions! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback Whales frequently interact with sealions when it comes to cooperative feeding and actual play. Sealions will swim around with Humpbacks helping corral food. They can also porpoise out of the water when it comes to playful interactions and…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale after a successful kill Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions When Transient Bigg’s Killer Whales are on the hunt, they can be seen very close in to shore as they look for their primary prey of seals and sealions. In this issue they went into Drew Harbour,…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided dolphins doing acrobatics! Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Pacific White-Sided dolphins are seen regularly here in the coastal waters of British Columbia. Although these dolphins are named “white-sided”, their sides (flanks) are really a light grey colour and compared to the rest of the body which are…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whales, Mathematician and Raza Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions There are many Humpback whales in upper Georgia Strait and in many inland waterways. Many of them are visible from land so you don’t necessarily need to be on a boat if you are looking for a whale experience. Humpback…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphin stampede through Cordero Channel Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Pacific White-Sided dolphins are capable of swimming up to about 45 km/h, and they may be bow-riding next to ships and boats as well as porpoising (as seen in our cover image). The ability to swim quickly…
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Cover Image: Dalls Porpoise Robin Pears, Campbell River Whale Watching Here in the coastal waters of British Columbia, we are lucky to have two species of porpoises. One of the species is Dall’s porpoises. Our cover image shows two Dall’s porpoises surfacing. They can grow up to 7-feet long (2.2-m) and they can be recognized…
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Cover Image: An orca breaking the water’s surface! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Transient (Bigg’s) Orca and Northern Resident Orca were both observed during the past reporting period. Transient Orca feed on seals, sea lions, porpoises, dolphins, and occasionally larger whales. They tend to travel around quite extensively from day-to-day in…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale in front of Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Breaching Humpback whales can be seen from a fair distance away; with use of binoculars, one may see whales as far as 6-8 km away. One may notice a big splash in the ocean indicating Humpbacks are breaching. Of course, seeing…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins travelling close to shore! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours There are many species of dolphins that live here off the B.C. Coast. One type of dolphin that is seen regularly are the Pacific White-Sided dolphins. They travel in pods of various sizes; small pods may…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whales in Sutil Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales, dolphins, and porpoises belong to a group called Cetacea, and they are a delight to watch out in the sea. Observers always want to capture those special moments with Cetaceans by taking pictures of these wonderful animals. Often,…
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Cover Image: Two large bulls travelling together Don Peterson, Hornby Island, BC One of the obvious and visible signs of the presence of Orca are their dorsal fins rising out of the water when they surface to breathe. Adult male Orca have dorsal fins that can be up to 2-meters tall, which is taller than…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whales Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions During the past week, some of the Northern Resident Orca (NRKW) made their way into Georgia Strait as far south as the mouth of the Fraser River (July 16th). Then, they slowly made their way northward passing Sechelt and Pender Harbour…
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Cover Image: Humpbacks resting in Sutil Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many Humpback whales are in the upper Georgia Strait area and other waterways further north from there. Some of these Humpback whales were seen breaching, foraging, and resting. Cetaceans need to rest and sleep; for most species of Cetaceans,…
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Cover Image: Grey Whale near Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC On June 26, two Grey whales appeared off of Powell River, taking a few hours to swim past the town heading northward. Grey whales tend to swim on the outer coast (West Coast) of Vancouver Island but there are always a few who…
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Cover Image: Humpback – BCY0291 KC – at Browns Bay, Discovery Passage Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Approximately two-thirds of the sightings received during the past two weeks were of Humpback whales. The number of Humpback whales present in inland waterways has continuously increased from year to year. Many of them are…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale in Puget Sound on May 31, 2021 Justine Buckmaster, Lynnwood, Washington June is Orca Awareness Month. Orca as apex predators are important in the ecosystem and they are iconic to many of us culturally that live here in British Columbia. Consider ways to help promote their protection and conservation,…
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