Tag: Sechelt

A publication of Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)

Pacific White-Sided Dolphins flying!

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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Whales Play Too!

Cover Image: Humpbacks by south of Penn Islands, Sutil Channel Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Humpback whales continue to make their presence known in many inland waterways as they perform various behaviours, including breaching, spy-hopping (as in our cover image), pectoral slapping, and tail slapping. These may be ways the whales play but they also…
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Whales Spyhopping

Cover Image: Bigg’s basking in the sunlight off of Grief Point Michelle Pennell, Powell River, BC Whales may spyhop, a behaviour where the whale will swim to the surface vertically and raise their head out of the water to allow them to see (or “spy”) on the surrounding. Our cover image shows an Orca that…
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Orca Waving

Cover Image: Transient Biggs Orca – the T18s and T19B – making their way along the Denham Bay Shoreline Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions Many Transient Orca were observed; these Orca eat other mammals such as porpoises, dolphins, seals, and sea lions. There were no sightings of Resident Orca reported to us;…
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Dolphins mob Humpbacks and Orca hunt Porpoise

Cover Image: Humpbacks and Dolphins milling about together Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures On at least two different occasions, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins were observed in close proximity to Humpback whales. Instead of being a friendly encounter, the dolphins appear to swarm and annoy the whale (similar to us when we are out at a park…
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Active Dolphins and Humpback Whales

Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins putting on a show! Stuart Clark, Eagle Eye Adventures Pacific White-Sided Dolphins were observed in a few waterways, and they were very active at the surface making leaps out of the water and bow-riding at another location. These dolphins swim very fast and can easily keep pace with a…
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Large Group of Dolphins

Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins off of Mink Island Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures Although the most sightings reported are still Humpback Whales, Pacific White Sided Dolphins took center stage for a while in Discovery Passage in particular. These animals are the acrobats of our oceans and have been know to leap as high…
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Very Active Humpback Whales

Cover Image: Humpbacks breaching in Sutil Channel Stuart Clark, Eagle Eye Adventures In this first catch-up report, Humpback Whales are still showing off with their impressive breaching all throughout our inside waters. The most asked question is ‘why do Humpbacks breach’? The truth is that we can only guess at the reasons. Thoughts are so…
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Humpbacks – Full Body Breach!

Cover Image: Humpback breaching near Grant Reef Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Many Humpback whales were sighted in Calm Channel, Sutil Channel, Discovery Passage, and upper Georgia Strait. The Humpbacks were displaying various behaviours including breaching, pectoral slapping, and swimming against the tide. One can only be in awe as a Humpback whale breaches with…
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Humpbacks Breaching!

Cover Image: Humpbacks putting on a show! Reuben Buerge, Eagle Eye Adventures A number of Humpback whales were breaching and they can be seen even from a few kilometers away. Other surface behaviours of Humpbacks include pectoral slaps, tail slaps, and lunge-feeding. When lunge-feeding, Humpbacks rapidly approach prey and engulf their prey as the whales…
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Dolphin Leaps and Northern Resident Orca

Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolphins jumping like popcorn off of Denham Islet Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were observed, of which the largest pod was estimated to have around 200 dolphins. These dolphins are very playful and can leap out of the water reaching…
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Dolphins in BC

Cover Image: Pacific White Sided Dolpins having fun Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Pacific White-Sided dolphins are abundant here in British Columbia and they can be easily recognized by their grey to dark grey body colour with distinct lighter sides. They have a short rostrum (beak) and a noticeably curved dorsal fin. Pacific White-Sided dolphins…
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The Pectoral Fins of Humpbacks

Cover Image: Humpback showing off its fin to a boat of whale watchers Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Humpback whales are intelligent and they can be playful as well as active near the surface of the water. Humpback whales have pectoral fins that can be up to 16-feet long (5-meters). Humpbacks…
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Orca Breach!

Cover Image: Transient Biggs Orca breaching with a strand of kelp Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures Transient Orca were observed in various inland waterways. Orca display many behaviours at the surface including breaching. The cover image shows the belly side of an Orca as it was breaching. The Orca also has a strand of kelp…
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Orca Behaviours

Cover Image: Biggs transient orca spotted breaching Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Continuing on the same theme as with previous issues, Orca display various behaviours some of which are considered playful and other behaviours that can be described as curiosity. Playful behaviours can include breaches, pectoral slaps, and tail slaps. Behaviours that display curiosity include…
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The Abundant Dolphin in BC

Cover Image: Pacific white-sided dolphins milling at Hall Point, Sonara Island. Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many pods of Pacific White-Sided dolphins were observed, a number of them being in Nodales Channel and around Frederick Arm. These dolphins are the most abundant dolphin here in B.C. waters evidenced by pods each…
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Humpbacks Mugging

Cover Image: Humpbacks approached whale watching tours, the boats involved were respectful and raised their motors until the whales moved on. Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures With so many Humpback whales in upper Georgia Strait and various inland waterways that are being reported by a number of observers, it is difficult to determine the exact…
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Humpback Behaviours

Cover Image: Humpback breaching off of Viner Point Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many Humpback whales were observed in various inland waterways. Humpback whales were in groups of 2 or 3 in most cases, but some groups were larger with up to 8 members. Many Humpbacks were breaching and doing pectoral…
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Whales in Canada

Cover Image: Humpback surprises whale watching tour. Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures As we celebrate Canada Day this coming week, it is truly remarkable for us to live here in this country with so much natural beauty around us to enjoy. From the mild climate to the towering mountains to the diversity of plants and…
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Many Groups of Humpback Whales

Cover Image: Humpback heading south near Hidden Harbour Stan Novotny, Eagle Eye Adventures During the past week, many Humpback whales were observed in upper Georgia Strait and in a number of inland waterways. Many Humpbacks were paired up but only a few were reported as mother-calf pairs. Some larger groups included up to 7 Humpback…
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Rare White Orca

Cover Image: T046s with white baby orca T46B1B feeding on a porpoise. Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures June is Orca Awareness Month. Here in British Columbia, we are lucky to have 3 ecotypes of Orca: Residents, Transients, and Offshore. Of interest lately is a young Transient Orca that is white coloured and a member of…
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Tails of Humpback Whales

Cover Image: Humpback showing of its tail near Manson Passage Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures Watching whales in the wild is awe-inspiring, especially when whales perform unique behaviours such as breaching and lunge-feeding. When the whale’s tail is raised out of the water, it means the whale is diving and will be under water for…
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Whales Following Food

Cover Image: Pacific white-sided dolphins at McMullen Point. Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours As more whale species work their way into our inside waters between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, every year we notice a few changes. This year many of the Humpback Whales, still working their way into Georgia Strait,…
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Humpback Whales Have Returned!

Cover Image: Humpback breaching off of Viner Point Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures From the number of reported sightings this past week, more than 60 of them were of Humpback whales. The Humpback whales have definitely returned to BC waters for the summer, and many of them were located in upper Georgia Strait and other…
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Transient Biggs Orca That Surprise Us

Cover Image: A rare sighting of a nearly white Biggs calf (T46B1B) off of Nanaimo Val Watson, Vancouver Island, BC Making news this week is a sighting of a young Transient Orca that is pale-grey coloured. The whale was spotted around Dodd Narrows south of Nanaimo, causing much intrigue and delight to observers and biologists.…
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Large Pod of Transient Biggs Orca

Cover Image: Biggs, including T037As, T049As, T101s & T124As, south of Campbell River Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours A large pod of Transient Orca appeared on May 19 in Georgia Strait and made its way northward to Campbell River over the afternoon and early evening. The pod numbered around 20 animals…
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Baleen Whales

Cover Image: Humpback tail slapping across from Fawn Bluff Jos Krynen, Eagle Eye Adventures Humpback whales are returning to various inland waterways and they are displaying common behaviours such as breaching and tail-slapping. Humpback whales are Baleen whales, meaning they have no teeth. Instead, they have long protein bristles hanging down from the top jaw…
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The Size of Whales

Cover Image: Humpback fluking near Quadra Island Kurt Staples, Eagle Eye Adventures The size of whales is truly amazing and one can only find out when viewing one out on the sea. Humpback whales can be up to 16 meters in length. When Humpbacks surface, they can be seen from well over a few kilometers…
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Humpback Whales Breaching

Cover Image: Humpback breaching! Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Similar to the previous publication, Humpback whales continue to be sighted with high frequency in the upper Georgia Strait and lower Sutil Channel areas. Many have had the opportunity to view Humpbacks breaching in the area as it is a common behaviour…
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Many Humpbacks and Few Orca

Cover Image: Northern Residents, A42s, fluking near Hickey Point Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours Many Humpback whales are still around in the upper Georgia Strait and lower Sutil Channel areas. Observers have been able to witness a variety of behaviours such as foraging and full-body breaches. Humpback whales can be identified…
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