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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Cover Image: Southern Resident Killer Whales – J pod – by Cape Mudge Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Over the past weekend on April 4th, Southern Resident Orca (fish-eating) were observed at the north end of Georgia Strait and were making their way southward. On April 5th, these Orca were last…
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Cover Image: Pacific White-Sided Dolphin Stranding and Rescue Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society On Monday, March 16th, Transient Orca chased some Pacific White-Sided dolphins close to shore near Powell River. The dolphins remained in shallow waters for some time trying to wait out the Transient Orca nearby and were eventually caught behind an old…
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Cover Image: Sea Otters near Gowlland Point, South Pender Island John Peetsma, Pender Island, BC A few Sea Otters were observed during the past few weeks. Full grown Sea Otters can be over one meter long and weigh approximately 25-kg. When they are on the surface, Sea Otters float or swim on their backs, and…
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Cover Image: Bigg’s travelling with a calf side by side Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Many species of whales and dolphins are known to be large. Orca are the largest type of dolphins, and male Orca can grow up to 8-meters long with a dorsal fin that is up to 2-meters tall. When you compare…
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Cover Image: Humpback breaching Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Which Cetaceans are around? Over the past few weeks, a few Humpback whales were observed as well as a few pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins. Dall’s porpoises were observed in a number of locations but it seems like some of the porpoises…
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Cover Image: A killer whale breaching Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Happy New Year! Welcome to the first sighting issue of the New Year. During the past three weeks over the Holidays, we received just over 70 sighting reports so there are Cetaceans out there! The week before Christmas, some Northern…
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Cover Image: Killer Whale swimming through rainbow colours Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Over the past few weeks, some of the Northern Resident Orca (fish-eating) ventured further south than they normally do, appearing on a few occasions in Sutil Channel and upper Georgia Strait. Transient Orca (marine mammal eating) were also sighted on many occasions…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whales – the A42s-heading towards the Penn Islands. Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Humpback Whales, as well as other baleen whales, use bubble netting as a method to forage. Usually used when a group is feeding cooperatively, one or two whales dive down and exhale, blowing bubbles…
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Cover Image: Bigg’s, T101B, with Mount Vander in the backdrop Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales adapt to the seasons with some species migrating to tropical waters during the winter, such as Humpback whales and Grey whales. Orca, porpoises, and Pacific White-Sided dolphins can be viewed during the Winter months around…
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Cover Image: Humpbacks & Sea Lions playing between Rebecca Rocks and Harwood Island Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Whales are highly intelligent animals and they know “friends from foe”; whales and dolphins do interact with other animals and do display kind behaviours to them. Humpbacks, seals, sea lions, and sea birds often are found in…
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Cover Image: Humpback calf breaching between the Powell River Viewpoint and Grief Point Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Calves and juvenile whales learn from their mothers and other adults. Behaviours such as feeding techniques, hunting strategies, and surface activities (such as tail slapping) are learned behaviours. Our cover images shows a young Humpback whale breaching…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Orca hunting near Cape Mudge Lighthouse Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Orca are apex predators, meaning they are at the top of the food chain in our marine ecosystem. When Transient Orca are hunting, the Orca work as a group and are very stealthy when approaching their prey. When they are…
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Cover Image: Killer whale spyhopping in the Strait of Georgia Val Watson, Vancouver Island, BC There are about 80 species of Cetaceans world-wide (whales, dolphins, & porpoises) and the sense of sight varies with some species having better eyesight than others. To navigate underwater, many Cetaceans use their sense of hearing in combination with their…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Orca heading North past Gibsons Beach Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Whales spend the majority of their time below the surface of the water. Some whales travel in one general direction and have predictable surface patterns. However, some whales travel in different directions while underwater and are difficult to track and…
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Cover Image: Bigg’s heading towards Beazley Passage Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Orca tend to stay with their families and travel with them; this social organization is observed in Resident Orca and Transient Orca. The oldest female is the leader of the pod, and the pod would include her offspring and potentially her “grand-children” as…
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Cover Image: Humpbacks – Mammoth & Split – showing off their flukes! Natalie Reichenbacher, Vancouver Island Whale Watch Have you become more accumstomed to the presence of Humpback whales in our local waters? Any behaviours or patterns of Humpbacks that you have noticed? One pattern you may have observed is when a Humpback goes for…
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Cover Image: Bigg’s heading towards Viner Point Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures A distinguishing feature of Orca are their dorsal fins. A sighting of dorsal fins would be sign that Orca are present (or possibly another Cetacean). Male Orca have dorsal fins that can be up to 2-meters tall and are significantly taller than dorsal…
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Cover Image: Humpback getting up close and personal Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales do have hair but very little of it! Whales are mammals and were once land animals over 50 million years ago. Similar to other land mammals past and present, they had fur and hair. However when they…
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Cover Image: Humpbacks by Mitlenatch Island, Georgia Strait Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures A Humpback whale breaching often will catch you off-guard. On a recent trip, I was able to see on seperate occasions Humpback whales breaching and it occurred unexpectedly. It was nonetheless exhiliarating to see and amazing to witness the size of the…
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Cover Image: Pacific White-Sided Dolphins in Homfray Channel Josh Grin, Discovery West Adventures Pacific White-Sided dolphins are fast swimmers and they can reach speeds of approximately 40 km/h. Often when they are swimming fast and travelling in a certain direction, these dolphins will leap clear out of the water horizontally as in our cover image.…
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