Tag: Sunshine Coast

A publication of Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)

Humpback Whale Entanglements!

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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Can’t Miss the Humpback Whales!

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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Dolphins porpoise!

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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Plentiful Humpbacks!

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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The Pacific White-Sided Dolphins

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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Breaching Whales!

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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Whales on Both Sides of Georgia Strait

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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Whales Like to Play

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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Transient Orca Hunting and Grey Whales off Saanich

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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Southern Resident Orca appear again and Grey Whale at Nanoose

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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Surprise! Southern Resident Orca make an Appearance!

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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Dolphin Stranding off Powell River

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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Sea Otters are Around

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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Size of Juvenile Whales

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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Cetaceans Enjoy the Winter Here in BC

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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Whales Are Around

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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Roaming Orca

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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What’s a Bubble Net?

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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