Cover Image: Orca and snowy mountain! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Over the past few weeks, we received many reports of Orca sightings. More than half of those sightings were Transient Orca, which hunt and eat other marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and dolphins. Resident Orca were also observed; these Orca eat fish…
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Cover Image: Humpback showing off their fluke! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Over the past 4 weeks, we have received sighting reports of Humpback whales and Orca around the Powell River area. Some of the Humpback whales were observed breaching and doing other surface activities, like lifting their flukes (tails) out of the water. Humpback…
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Cover Image: A high flying dolphin at the mouth of Nodales Channel Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours During the past few weeks, a few sightings of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were reported. These dolphins can be exciting to watch when they travel quickly or when they leap out of the water up…
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Cover Image: Orca travelling mid channel! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours There are Orca and Humpback whales still within the Georgia Strait and inland waterways. During the past few weeks, very few Orca were sighted and reported. There are Transient Orca around that can be seen and a chance that you…
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Cover Image: Pacific White-sided Dolphins leaping out of the water! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Pacific White-Sided dolphins may be seen travelling really fast; they may be swimming at high speeds so they catch their prey or they may be avoiding Transient killer whales, their predator. Often as they swim fast, the dolphins will make…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whale surfacing in Malaspina Strait Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society With so much marine mammals present in inland waterways, there is bound to be interactions between species. For example on September 21st, there were Humpback whales, Northern Resident Orca, and Transient Orca all in the same area and interacting near the…
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Cover Image: Humpback and kayakers! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Autumn has arrived with cooler temperatures. Changes will occur on land and in the sea as time progresses towards the winter months. However, the presence of Cetaceans has not changed over the first few weeks of September. Cetaceans have been observed and reported in upper…
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Cover Image: Humpback showing off their fins! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback whales have long pectoral fins or flippers. For an adult Humpback whale which can be up to 17-meters in length, the pectoral fins will be about 5-meters long. The pectoral fins are used in variety of ways, including…
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Cover Image: Pacific white-sided dolphin leaping into the air! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Pacific White-Sided dolphins are seen in many parts of B.C. whether in waterways and inland channels, or further offshore in open waters. They can swim fast reaching speeds of up to 45-km/h. These dolphins are very acrobatic, capable of doing flips…
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Cover Image: Humpbacks – Wilkinson BCY0267 and Spock BCY1134 – in a synchronized dive Susan MacKay, Wild Ocean Whale Society What makes each Cetacean species unique? Here are some of the reasons for each of the main species seen here in B.C. Orca are unique for their intelligence and for their social structures – families…
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Cover Image: Humpback feeding! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback whales are classified in a group called Baleen whales. Other Baleen whales include Blue whales, Grey whales, Minke whales, and Fin whales. These whales do not have teeth. Instead, they have baleen which are protein plates hanging down from the upper…
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Cover Image: Humpbuck breaching! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Over the past week, close to half of the sightings we received were of Humpback whales. Some of the Humpbacks were mother-calf pairs. Many Humpback whales were breaching and a few were observed lunge feeding and doing tail slaps. Northern Resident Orca…
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Cover Image: Humpback Whales Breaching! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Whales are amazing to watch whether from land or by boat. Often, individuals are lucky to see whales breach, meaning when the whales propel their bodies vertically out of the water as in our cover image. Humpback whales and Orca are…
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Cover Image: Killer Whales Travelling Mid-Channel Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Summer is officially here and with it, sea life is abounding. Transient Orca have been reported in many inland waterways and channels. Just over half of the sightings reported are of Humpback whales obsrved from central Georgia Strait to upper Georgia Strait and adjacent…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales surfacing near shore! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours During the past 2 weeks, Orca have been observed near Victoria and Nanaimo, as well as in Howe Sound, upper Georgia Strait, and its adjacent waterways. Most of the Orca reported were Transient Biggs Orca, which feed…
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Cover Image: “Potumas” the humpback surfacing Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours More than half of the reported sightings during the past two weeks were of Humpback Whales. A majority of the Humpback whales were observed in upper Georgia Strait and its adjacent waterways; a few have appeared off Vancouver (the Lower…
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Cover Image: Orca breaching and tail slapping Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Not quite a Super Pod of Transient Biggs Orca joined together in front of Powell River on their way farther south. A super pod of Orca is generally a gathering of 50 or more whales. Orca travel in family pods so to avoid…
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Cover Image: Orca blowing together Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC A major portion of the sighting reports of Cetaceans received during the past few weeks were of Orca. Most of the Orca were the Transient Biggs Orca, ones which eat other marine mammals like seals, sea lions, and porpoises. Many of the Transient Orca were…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins surfacing Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours It is Spring time and with this time of year, there is renewal of life as there is more sunshine warming the land and the sea. The abundance of organisms increases all around us, and with careful observation and…
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Cover Image: Killer whale swimming with calf Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Baby Orca are born with a colour different from adult Orca, as seen in our cover image. Instead of white patches, baby Orca have patches of light brown and as they get older, the patches become white. Baby Orca will be between 2.0-meters…
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Cover Image: North Resident Killer Whales surfacing in Malaspina Strait Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC World Whale Day will be celebrated on February 18. It is a day to appreciate the beauty, size, and intelligence of all whales, dolphins, and porpoises (Cetaceans). Cetaceans are extremely important in the ocean ecosystems. Since they are at the…
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Cover Image: North Resident Killer Whales surfacing in Malaspina Strait Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Members of the Northern Resident Orca have remained in upper Georgia Strait during the past two weeks, notably around Powell River. Resident Orca eat fish and tend to travel in larger pods, compared to the Transient Orca which eat marine…
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Cover Image: Northern Resident Killer Whales travelling Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Members of the Northern Resident Orca appeared near Powell River and upper Georgia Strait on December 5th and December 8th. The Northern Resident Orca appear in upper Georgia Strait a few times a year but they are not usually seen there at this…
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Cover Image: Killer Whale Blowing! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Some of the Southern Resident Orca were seen in Georgia Strait on November 11. Members of K-pod appeared off the north end of Texada Island in the morning but it is unknown where they went in the following days. Humpback whales were seen in many…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins leaping through the air Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Pacific White-Sided dolphins are very common along the coast and in waterways of British Columbia. They can be in small pods with 10 individuals or they can be seen in large pods that include a few hundred individuals. These dolphins…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale Hunting Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Transient Orca prey on marine mammals, such as seals, sea lions, otters, porpoises, dolphins, and possibly calves of larger whales. Transient Orca can be stealthy when approaching their prey and will work together to catch their prey. On some hunts,…
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Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins leaping through the air! Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC A number of pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were observed during the past couple of weeks. Two of the pods were quite large, numbering around 100 individuals per pod. Pacific White-Sided dolphins can be exciting to watch as they can…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whale, Chainsaw Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many pods of Transient Orca were observed during the past week. Individual Orca can be identified by the shape of their dorsal fin, and the patterns of their eyepatch as well as their saddlepatch (located on the back posterior…
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Cover Image: Transient Biggs Killer Whales travelling together Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Pod sizes vary from one species to another. Transient Biggs Orca tend to travel in pods that number between 4 to 8 individuals. Occasionally, larger pods of Transients form that might include up to 30 individuals. Resident Orca…
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