Cover Image: Humpbacks singing at sunset Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society Another year is finished and we are happy to let 2020 go into the sunset. We look forward to a better year in 2021 and from all of us in our organization, we wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year!Many…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales – T002Cs – spyhopping! Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions A behaviour observed in Cetaceans is spyhopping. Spyhopping is when a Cetacean is able to rise to the surface vertically and raise its head out of the water, such as the Orca in our cover image. This…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Autumn brings many visible changes around us on land and in the sea. Some species of Cetaceans may be moving as their prey moves to different locations with the onset of Fall. Other species may be migrating to warmer waters…
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Cover Image: Humpback calf breaching! Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Many Humpback whales are still travelling around inland waterways and many of them can be seen easily from shore. Of the 116 sightings received, 89 of them were of Humpback whales. Many of the Humpback sightings reported the whales were breaching, some multiple times. A…
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Cover Image: Young Pacific White Sided Dolphin Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions When we look at our ocean ecosystem as a whole, it may be easy to forget about the little guys. We don’t. All whales, dolphins and porpoise that are within our oceans play a huge part in the balance, as…
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Cover Image: Constellation the humpback breaching! Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Identifying individual animals is something of a learning curve and even those of us who are used to doing IDs over many years can have difficulty at times. Photographic evidence is extremely important to confirm an ID. With Humpback Whales, the…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale with Pink Krill Blow Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Humpback Whales are baleen whales. Baleen, instead of teeth, is formed in fine strands from keratin. Keratin is the same substance your body uses to create fingernails, hair and even some of your skin. Like fingernails, baleen becomes flexible when wet allowing…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales near Walkem Islands, Johnstone Strait Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours There is no typo in our title. Yes, Orca are big, such as the adult males which can reach lengths of 8-9 meters. However, “Bigg’s Orca” is a name that refers to the Transient Orca…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale near Vivian Island Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC The number of sightings continue to remain relatively high with many Cetaceans staying notably in upper Georgia Strait, Sutil Channel, and Discovery Passage. The majority of sightings are of Humpback whales, with some of them breaching and a few slapping their pectoral fins.…
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Cover Image: Humpback playing with Stellar Sea Lions! Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Here in our Province of British Columbia, there is an abundance of wildlife in the sea. There are over 20 different species of Cetaceans that inhabit these waters, and many of you will get opportunities to see whales, dolphins, or porpoises from…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale, T101B Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Orca (or Killer whales) are the largest dolphins in the world. Adult male Orca maybe over 8-meters long and may have a mass close to 10000-kg. Full grown female Orca are about 7-meters long and have a mass over 7000-kg.…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whales – C6s & D11s – passing Deepwater Bay, Discovery Passage Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions On the morning of August 30th, Northern Resident Orca (fish-eating)travelled southward starting from the north end of Discovery Passage and they arrived in Menzies Bay around noon where they remained for…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whales in front of Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC We have many whales in our inside waters. Humpbacks are still in large numbers with over fifty meandering and foraging in our channels and Georgia Strait. Boat operators, in particular faster moving boats, need to use some caution and attention. Humpbacks…
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Cover Image: Spirit Orca (Tl’uk) passing south of Campbell River Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Transient Orca usually are on the move and they rarely stay in one area for extensive periods of time. They may be found in one waterway and in a few hours, the Orca would be in…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale on a Sunny Evening Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures The tail of a Humpback whale is used to identify individuals in conjuction with the shape with its dorsal fin. The contour on the trailing edge of the tail combined with the colouration pattern on the underside of the tail are specific…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale by Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Pictures (and videos) can tell us a lot about Cetaceans. For decades, whale biologists have been using pictures to identify whales, examine their behaviours, and to determine their health. Biologists can identify a specific individual…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whale and a Humpback Whale Stan Novotny, Eagle Eye Adventures On August 9th, some Northern Resident Killer Whales (i.e. fish-eating Orca) made their way into the southern end of Sutil Channel appearing between Quadra Island and Read Island. Their group may have included up to 30 members and they remained…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whales with Pacific White Sided Dolphin near Eve River, Vancouver Island Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are very social, which may explain why many of them remain in groups and they form strong bonds with members of their group. One example is Orca…
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Cover Image: Biggs Orca at Sunset Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales, dolphins, and porpoises can appear at any time of the day. As magnificent as a sunset by itself can be, how about combining that view with the ocean and Orca surfacing close by? Cetaceans often appear when you least…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale – BCY Checkmate – entangled with blue poly line around its dorsal fin Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Similar to our previous publication, the majority of sighting reports received this past week were of Humpback whales in upper Georgia Strait and in Sutil Channel. With a definite…
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Cover Image: Mother Humpback Whale and Calf Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Humpback whales can be seen in many areas around British Columbia, and it is no different in and around Sutil Channel as well as upper Georgia Strait. Although the exact number of Humpback whales in the mentioned areas can not be determined, we…
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Cover Image: Pacific White-Sided Dolphins at Rendezvous Islands, Calm Channel Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Our title does not have typo! Dolphins do porpoise! To porpoise (verb) means to swim forward quickly while rising in and out of the water; in most cases for dolphins when they porpoise, you will see part of their dorsal…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale Showing Off Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Of the 126 sightings we received this week, 99 of them were of Humpback whales. There are many more Humpback whales out there around British Columbia and it is an amazing conservation story to see their population rebounding to healthy…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins heading east at Bjerre Rock, Okisollo Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours It is very common to see Pacific White-Sided dolphins here in BC as they are very abundant in inland waterways and out on the coast. These dolphins appear to have a lighter coloured…
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Cover Image: Breaching Humpback Whale Angie and Paul Hibbert, Sayward, BC Many whales exhibit a behaviour called breaching; this is when a whale swims quickly towards the surface of the water and breaks the surface in an upward direction. If a whale was swimming fast enough, most of their body could be out of the…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale – T023 – travelling through Seymour Narrows Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many whales and dolphins have made their appearance in a number of locations and were visible from many land locations. Transient Orca have been observed on both sides of Georgia Strait and were…
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Cover Image: Orca Playing with Seaweed Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Whales and dolphins are very social and they enjoy playing. Our cover image shows an Orca with some kelp in its mouth. The Orca may be playing with it putting it on its head like a hat or the whale may be exploring its…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales – T124A2s & T087 – passing by Campbell River Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many pods of Transient Orca were observed in many areas, from Howe Sound and off Parksville up through Georgia Strait to Johnstone Strait and around West Thurlow Island. On a few…
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Cover Image: Southern Residents are back Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours On April 15, Southern Resident Orca (fish-eating) were observed in the evening off Cape Mudge which is at the south end of Quadra Island. Members of J-pod were identified among the Orca and they were last seen heading south. No…
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