Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale blowing mid channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours One obvious sign that there are Cetaceans close by are their blows (or spouts) which can be seen and heard. Blows of whales and dolphins vary in shape and sizes. For example, the blows of an Orca…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours During the past week, a number of Transient Biggs Orca were observed and reported. One pod of Transient Orca was observed hunting off the south end of Quadra Island (Cape Mudge) and catching a Harbour porpoise. A number of Humpback…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale leaping at sunset! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC During the past two weeks, over half of the sighting reports we received were of Transient Orca. Some of these Orca were observed breaching, milling, and spy-hopping. One specific pod, the T090s, was seen on three different days in upper Georgia…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale in Malaspina Strait Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC During the past few weeks, many Transient Orca were observed and reported to us in upper Georgia Strait and in many inland waterways. Transient Orca were also appearing quite regularly in other areas of the province, such as in Howe Sound…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Eagles foraging for Herring! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours When you see Cetaceans out in the sea, how could you tell if those whales or dolphins are foraging? There are a few signs of foraging that you can look for – perhaps you can…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours The majority of reports received over the past two weeks were of Transient Biggs Orca. Orca were observed as far north as Johnstone Strait and as far south as Juan de Fuca Strait. Some of the Orca were observed milling,…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins travelling together Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Foraging for food is a primary concern for all wildlife. Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoise) have huge ranges of ocean to cover looking for their food if they don’t follow the flow of fish, who frequently follow krill. With the majority of…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales travelling at dusk Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC During the past few weeks, Orca have been sighted off Sechelt, Hornby Island, Comox, Powell River, Campbell River, and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait. Most of these sightings were Transient Biggs Killer whales. There was a small pod of Northern…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins near Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC World Whale Day is celebrated this year on Sunday, February 19th. It a day to appreciate all Cetaceans -meaning whales, dolphins, and porpoises- and their importance in their environments. We can also reflect on ways to conserve and protect these wonderful,…
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Cover Image: A mother orca and mother dolphin travelling together Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Dependent on the location and time of year, one may be able to see Resident Orca travelling with Pacific White-Sided dolphins. The Pacific White-Sided dolphins know how to distinguish between the Resident “fish-eating” Orca and the…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins near Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Large pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins appeared off Powell River on December 17th and again on December 28th. Each pod was estimated to include around two hundred dolphins and they were visible from shore. Our cover image shows two dolphins travelling…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale near Powell River Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC There appears to be many Humpback whales in waterways and inland channels. Humpback whales were observed in Johnstone Strait, Discovery Passage, Georgia Strait, Malaspina Strait, and off Nanaimo as well as the Sunshine Coast. Eventhough they may be well offshore (e.g. a few…
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Cover Image: Orca travelling together! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are often in groups or pods. Orca tend to stay together as families with the oldest female being the leader of the pod. Transient Orca tend to be in groups of 4 to 6 individuals while Resident…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours The presence of many sea birds (e.g. seagulls) may indicate that are either whales or dolphins in the area too. The sea birds may be looking for opportunities to snatch fish near the surface of the water as the whales…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Orca blowing a rainbow! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours During the past reporting period, many Transient Orca were observed and a few of the Orca pods were seen hunting their prey. On October 11, Southern Resident Orca (J-pod) appeared off of Powell River mid-day and they appeared…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Occasionally, one may be fortunate to see the tails (flukes) of whales. It may be when whales are diving, breaching, playing on the surface, or even when they do tail lobs. When chasing and hunting their prey, Transient Orca may exit…
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Cover Image: Humpback – KC – with krill on their back! Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society In the previous publication, the feeding methods of Humpback whales was discussed. What do Humpbacks eat? Humpbacks may feed on krill, which are small crustaceans no bigger than a few centimeters and they look very similar to shrimp.…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales and dolphins use various strategies to capture their prey and to feed. Humpback whales are known for a few methods, such as bubble-net feeding. Humpbacks will swim in a circle below their prey (schooling fish) and while doing so, they would…
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Cover Image: Humpback breaching! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Understanding that an average size Humpback Whale is approximately the size of a bus, 40 ft. (just over 12M) and can weigh in the neighbourhood of 66,000 lbs (30,000 kg) can help put perspective into seeing this large animal coming totally out…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale, Galiano Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Because they can! That is the most common response you might receive. A breach is when the majority of a whale’s body comes out of the water. Watching a large whale coming totally out of the water is absolutely spectacular.…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins flying through the air! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Pacific White-Sided dolphins are commonly seen in the waters around B.C. These dolphins spend much of their time at the surface of the water, allowing us to view many of their behaviours. They can be seen…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Many Transient Orca were observed during the past week, most of them in upper Georgia Strait, Discovery Passage, and the eastern half of Johnstone Strait. A few of them were observed hunting their prey. Many Humpbacks were seen, predominantly in Sutil…
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Cover Image: Humpback taking a deep dive! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours A few of the Northern Resident Orca pods have been coming into Johnstone Strait and working their way down towards Nodales Channel, but not staying for too long. They are checking on the fish runs. Transient Bigg’s Orca, the…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale Breaching Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours During the past week, many Humpback whales were seen of which a few were observed breaching. For a full-body breach, a Humpback must expend high amounts of energy to gain enough speed underwater to allow them to leave the water vertically.…
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Cover Image: Killer Whales blowing by heavy vessel wakes Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Over the last reporting period, many Orca were seen most of which were Transient Orca. On at least two occasions, Transients were seen hunting their prey. There were a few sightings reported of Northern Resident Orca in Johnstone Strait. A large…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale, Geometry Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Whales can be very active and noticeable at the surface of the water. Active Humpback whales may be breaching, lunge-feeding, doing tail lobs, or doing pectoral slaps. On occasion, Humpback whales could also be seen doing very little such as milling in…
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Cover Image: Humpback showing off it’s flippers! Robin Pears, Campbell River Whale Watching Many Humpback whales are present and can be seen in many waterways, most notably Sutil Channel and upper Georgia Strait. There are a few mother-calf pairs in these areas and a few Humpbacks were observed breaching. One Humpback was playing with a…
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Cover Image: Rissos Dolphin in Nodales Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours On July 22, a few Risso’s dolphins were observed in Nodales Channel and they were travelling with some Pacific White-Sided dolphins. Risso’s dolphins are usually found offshore in deeper waters and are rarely seen travelling through inland waterways. Adding…
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Cover Image: Humpback diving mid-channel! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours An individual Humpback whale can be identified by studying its tail, usually by taking a photo of it such as our cover image. The colouration pattern of the underside of the tail plus the shape of the trailing edge of the…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales in Discovery Passage Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours There are many species of Cetaceans that breach. Here in B.C., the species most commonly seen breaching are Orca and Humpback whales. Sometimes, one may be lucky enough to see synchronized breaches by two whales, such as…
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