Vancouver Island Whale Watch

08/21/2024

Have you ever wondered what the meaning behind those codes we use for our Bigg's orca is? 🤔

08/20/2024

Lots of Humpbacks, a sprinkling of orca, and another surprise cetacean encounter! 😱

08/15/2024

You're looking at the longest Pectoral Fin in the World!

Or, at least, it can be someday! The Pectoral Fin of humpback whales are massive, getting up to 1/3 of their body length, or potentially 5 meters in length 😱

So why have such large flippers?

There are a few theories:

1. They make the large humpback whale more maneuverable in the water. Being able to turn quickly is very important if you are a whale chasing down your tiny prey under the surface. Using the pectoral fins similar to a rudder might be helping with this.

2. Communication through Slapping. These large fins can be hit against the water making a very loud noise. This noise travels across great distances, increasing the range of communication between whales.

3. They use their pectoral fins to help herd their prey. There has been evidence collected of humpback whales using their fins to "flash" schools of fish and concentrate them directly in front of their mouths. Although more research is being done into this one, it's very intriguing!

It's always a treat getting to see these giant fins poking out of the water, no matter what they're used for. This pectoral fin belongs to Malachite who we saw on August 9th.

08/06/2024

Did you know that there can be hundreds of pounds of these barnacles on a humpback whale? 🐋

This photo shows two different types of Barnacles:

𝟭. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀: the white plated, acorn barnacles. These acorn barnacles are species-specific, meaning that the barnacles found on a Humpback Whale are a different species than the ones found on a Gray Whale, for example. Given that they start their lives as free-swimming larvae and need to find a whale to settle on and start their normal growth, it's amazing that we see so many of them on our whales!

𝟮. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀: The pinkish, stalked barnacles. These barnacles are also species-specific and will attach to the Humpback Whale Barnacles instead of the whale themselves. Their fleshy stalks allow them to be flexible and move with the movement of the whale a bit more, which can be helpful if the whale is more active! their plates are at the "head" of the animal under the two "bunny ears" that you can see here!

So why do these barnacles settle on whales? Well, a normal, intertidal barnacle needs to move its feeding legs through the water to catch their food which can take a lot of energy. The barnacles on the whales get to just stick their legs out and let the humpback whale move them through the water! Not a lot of energy is spent for a lot of water to get filtered! It's a great deal for the barnacles.

The whales also benefit from this relationship since the sharp barnacles on their fins can be used for defence these huge barnacles combined with the fast-moving whale can really pack a punch!

We don't often get the chance to see the barnacles very closely, but thanks to the large telephoto lenses that we have onboard there are rare opportunities to get photos like this. All whale-watching regulations were followed while watching this humpback whale Olympus. Engines were shut down as she surfaced on her side, leading to this amazing photo!

08/01/2024

Did you know that not all whales have teeth? 🦷

In fact, most of the largest whales are Baleen Whales, meaning that instead of normal teeth, their mouth is lined with many plates of Baleen, a straw-like substance made of Keratin.

Humpback whales, like Graze's 2023 calf shown here, have anywhere from 𝟮𝟱𝟬-𝟰𝟬𝟬 baleen plates that hang from the top of their mouth and are used to filter out all the food that they catch with their giant mouths. They have ventral Grooves that expand, allowing an adult humpback whale to have about 𝟮𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 of water in a single mouthful! This is about the equivalent of filling your bathtub 182 times! 🛁

In all that water, they are after tiny organisms such as Krill 🦐, cephalopods 🦑, and small schooling fish 🐟. They will eat about 1 tonne of these tiny critters a day, which works out to about 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀!

That's a lot of food!

07/29/2024

Yeah buddy, we feel that way too. 😴 Happy Monday everyone!

07/27/2024

Do you know how to find us? Here's how to get to our office, located in the heart of the Nanaimo Waterfront Walkway!

07/23/2024

Eating with a Harbour Seal 🍽️

Did you know that there is a huge variation in a Harbour Seal's diet?

The majority of their diet consists of fish such as rockfish, hake, and smaller schooling fish like herring.

In addition to fish, they will also eat shellfish and Cephlepods, like the Giant Pacific Octopus it's eating in this photo!

When Harbour Seals are trying to eat, they have to tear their food into pieces by flinging it around at the surface since they can't bite through or use their flippers to hold on to their prey. Once it's in smaller pieces they will gobble them down!

This rare encounter was taken during our July 2nd tour, right inside the Nanaimo harbour!

07/20/2024

When you join a tour with us, sit back and relax, and let us take care of the photography!

Cell phone photos don't typically do the wildlife justice, so we make sure there is a camera onboard being run by the Marine Naturalist who will be capturing photos throughout your tour.

These photos will then be available for you to download for free! 📷

07/19/2024

Graze's 2023 calf was busily munching away at the surface of the water when we encountered them on July 2nd. They were lunge feeding, which caused their baleen plates to be visible above the surface of the water! 😱

07/18/2024

Ever wonder what adaptations whales have that let them dive so deep?

There are a few issues that animals face when they dive under the water's surface, the most important of which is the lack of oxygen and increased pressure at depth.

Whales have a few adaptations and reflexes that help them deal with these issues:

1. 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬 Research shows that less than 25% of the oxygen is stored in the lungs of diving mammals. They have high concentrations of Hemoglobin and myoglobin which are molecules that store oxygen in the blood and muscle tissues of animals. This means that there isn't extra gas in the lungs that would be changing volume with the depth change.

2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱 This describes changes that mammals, including whales, have when they go under the surface. Their heart rate slows and blood is restricted in their extremities, reducing unnecessary oxygen consumption and focusing it on the vital organs. This is all controlled automatically in the central nervous system and isn't something that they can control! You have this as well, being a mammal, and can record it by taking your heart rate with your face in and out of the water! (with caution of course).

3. 𝐀 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐛 𝐂𝐚𝐠𝐞 For whales that dive deep, they have a very flexible rib cage that allows it to collapse under the increasing pressure without being damaged. Certain whales will also have extra protection around their inner ear cavity to help protect it from collapse at depth.

All of these adaptations help the whales survive and thrive while they face these huge issues that come with life in the ocean!

07/15/2024

While we always recommend bringing out zoom lenses while you are out whale watching as animals can appear from a variety of distances away, sometimes those big lenses have a downside - when the whales unexpectedly change behaviours it can lead to some photo bloopers like this! This big humpback breach from July 9th was an amazing moment, but unfortunately, it ended up being a little cut off due to the length of the lens! It's still a great shot though! 🥰

07/12/2024

07/09/2024

Did you know that Eagles can Swim? 🦅

It's True!

Sometimes while they are fishing they catch a bit more than they bargained for. While they are large birds, they don't have as much lifting power as you might think. It's estimated that they aren't very comfortable carrying more than 4 extra pounds in their talons.

Lucky for them, their feathers are buoyant and they will stay at the surface if they get stuck in the water with their big prey. They can then use their wings like paddles to get closer to shore, hauling their catch along with them.

If they make it to shore, they can then enjoy their feast without having to carry it any further on the wing.

We got to see the first part of this during our tour on July 3, but in this case, they decided the fish wasn't worth the swim and dropped it after takeoff.

To see more photos and learn more about this encounter, check out our recent sightings blog here:

https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2024/7/5/july-3-2023-330-pm

07/04/2024

Have you ever wondered how the weather affects the behaviour of the whales? 🌊🐳🌞

We are often asked if the weather makes a difference in what we see the whales doing, and the simple answer is no!

We see all sorts of activity from both species of whales, during rain, during sunshine, in flat calm conditions, and waves.

It makes sense when you think about it. Being fully aquatic animals they don't have much of a choice when it comes to the weather, they are living in the ocean and waves are part of that. The main thing we've been asked when thinking about whales in the rain is:

Does it affect their breathing?

Whales exhale with a huge amount of force. This is what created the "blow" that we are usually searching for on the water, but the force also clears the air for them to be able to quickly inhale without sucking in water along with the air. This would clear the air from rain and from the spray created by the wind in rough weather making it easy for the whale to breathe normally in all conditions! 💨

Not having their breathing affected means that they can keep doing all the same things they would normally do, be it travel, feeding, surface activity, or whatever else they might want!

These photos show a range of activity in all sorts of weather that we've had lately so you can see!

06/25/2024

Breaching humpbacks, It's something we always hope to see while spending time with these Salish Sea Giants, but it's very rare. But why?

Well, did you know that a single breach from one of our humpback whales burns the energy equivalent of a human running a marathon? 🏃 This is also about 2% of their average daily energy. For a single action, that's a huge commitment!

So why would they do it at all? There are a few theories as to why humpback whale will breach:

1. To remove paracites such as whale lice or Barnacles! 🐞 It's estimated that a humpback whale could be carrying 1,000 extra pounds of barnacles at any given time, which relative to their weight is similar to our clothes. And isn't it nice to switch to PJs at the end of the day? That might be the same relief they get from the impact of the breach removing some of these tag-alongs!

2. Long Distance Communication 💬 The sound from the impact of surface behaviours is thought to be used as a long distance communication. Sound travels over 4x faster in the water vs in air so you can hear it from a great distance. This might let others know that perhaps there's good food here, or a whale looking to socialize!

3. Fun! 🎢 One of our leading theories is that the whales find it fun to do! We see it more often when the whales are being social, and it's often accompanied by other surface behaviours such as pectoral slapping or tail slapping. This makes it seem like they are enjoying themselves as they throw themselves into the air

We got to see quite a bit of breaching from our humpback whales during our tour on June 15th, which you can see more photos of by following the link below!

https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2024/6/17/june-15-2024-1030am

06/21/2024

Can you tell these are the same whale? 🤯

There can be huge variations in the look of a humpback whale's tail flukes as they age, which is part of why they don't typically get their nicknames until they have been re-sighted and had a new photo taken of their fluke.

The cloudy or milky white on a calf's fluke usually becomes a more solid white as time passes, or it can fade and become less obvious.

The whale shown here, Neowise (BCY1228), not only had the amount of white pigment on his tail decrease as he aged, but also had much less scarring on his tail when he was younger, leading to some confusion about who he was when he first turned up without his mother!

Luckily there are other ways to match the calves that return to our waters, such as dorsal fins and other unique markings! But knowing how the flukes usually change with time can be the best way to match the young returning whales to their baby photos 👶

06/19/2024

This fantastic photo was captured one year ago now during a tour with the T046Bs and T085s!

We watched these two pods working together to hunt what we thought was likely a Harbour Seal and then celebrate their success with a full stomach!

To see more photos from the day and read more about these pods check out the recent sightings blog from the day!

https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2023/6/24/june-19-2023-1030

06/12/2024

Do you know the differences between Transient and Resident orca? 🤔

06/11/2024

Can you guess how humpbacks are similar to Beavers? 🤔

They are both Ecosystem Engineers! 👷‍♀️

This means they change their environment to make it more suitable for their needs. In the case of the beaver, the change is obvious. The dams they build block flowing water, changing a river into a lake or wetland. With the humpbacks it's not as obvious, but it's just as important.

Humpbacks and other baleen whales act as nitrogen pumps, moving nutrients through the water column with their feeding patterns.

Humpbacks dive down hundreds of feet under the surface to find small schooling fish and other small critters, like krill. They eat a massive amount of these animals and digest them, and you know what happens to digested material...they p**p it out! 💩

Humpbacks always defecate at the surface of the water, releasing the nutrients that they concentrate from deeper. This spike in nutrients leads to more plankton being able to grow, and therefore more food being produced for the humpback whales, making a positive feedback loop.

To put it simply: the more food there is here for the humpbacks, the more humpbacks will return to feed, the more humpback p**p there will be at the surface making even more food for the humpbacks!

Pretty cool right?

Can you think of any other animals that would be considered Ecosystem Engineers?

Shown here is BCX1606 Beak/Nuage on our July 16, 2023 PM tour. All that pink/red is his p**p!

06/09/2024

It's been one year since we got this incredible shot during a T-party with the T124A2s, the T100Bs, and T100E Tharaya! 😱 We haven't seen the T100Bs yet this year - do you think we will see them soon?

06/07/2024

Identifying individual whales is one of the most important parts of our jobs, and is one of the reasons why we take so many photos! 📸 For our orca, we usually rely on their dorsal fins to confirm their IDs, but sometimes they get new injuries which can make identifying them trickier, sometimes resulting in them looking completely different from their original catalogue photos.

T124A Kittiwake is sporting some large new wounds that will scar over in the coming months, likely leaving new permanent markings. Look at how different the front part of her dorsal looks!

06/06/2024

Do you know what an orca's eyepatch is for?

There are two main theories as to the purpose of the big white spot just behind an orca's eye:

1. It acts as a distraction during fights with their prey. Having this large white patch for the animal to aim at will help protect the complex and sensitive eye from harm 👀

2. The bright eyepatch combined with the saddle patch helps groups of whales communicate visually without having to speak. 💬

All orca have eye patches, although there is a huge variation in their size among the different ecotypes worldwide. As we learn more about the orca, we may get more answers to this question, but for now, it will remain a mystery!

This photo is a great look at T101B Lagoon surfacing with both eye patches visible taken during our May 23rd tour!

https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2024/5/24/may-23-2024

06/02/2024

What is there to see around the Nanaimo Harbour before joining your tour?

Right now us VIWW Naturalists would all answer: SQUID!

These massive white clusters of Squid Egg Cases have appeared off the dock near our vessels and we are super excited about it!

Listen on to learn more about these amazing little Cephalopods!

05/28/2024

🚨 Bald Eagle Update! 🚨

We've seen the Eaglet!

Did you know that the timetable for Bald Eagle activity around Nanaimo is very predictable?

We tend to have Bald Eagles mating around Valentine's Day, finish prepping their nests by mid-March, and they will lay their eggs at the end of March.

The eggs will then hatch by the start of May. That means this ugly little guy was likely hiding from us inside the nest for the past month! It makes sense with how large this young Bald Eagle is!

We should see more and more of this Eaglet in the next few weeks until they will have their first flight towards the end of July and start their solo life.

We can't wait to watch this eagle grow up 🥰

05/26/2024

Another one of our most unique looking humpbacks has returned to the Salish Sea. Welcome back, Smoke (BCX2183)! 🐋

We encountered Smoke for the first time back on July 9, 2021. While Smoke was unique-looking then, he became even more unique-looking about a month later. The next time we encountered BCX2183 was on August 6, 2021, when their flukes were covered in fresh wounds. While we are unaware of what happened, we do know it led to some interesting new patterns on their fluke as seen in the last photo, taken August 23, 2023.

Besides looking neat, Smoke's mother Flame is also an interesting whale. She is an Alaskan whale, meaning normally her offspring such as Smoke would return to Alaska to feed. Why Smoke chose our area instead is a mystery, but we love seeing them here year after year!

05/24/2024

We've had so many gorgeous trips lately - here's some of our favourite highlights from our T-party on April 30th! 😍

We feature all of our best photos from every trip on our Recent Sightings blog - check out our website to learn more!

05/23/2024

Howe Sound has been full of whales lately! From Orca to Humpbacks they've been spotted, but it wasn't too long ago this wouldn't be the case.

Howe Sound suffered greatly in the 20th century, when people were using up it's natural resources without much thought to the sustainability of what they were doing. Commercial fisheries overfished the local stocks, ,mining introduced chemicals into the water, and logging not only removed the trees, but caused changes in the water outflow due to the removal of their root systems.

All of these factors combined to cause a loss of wildlife in the area. But thankfully, they realized the error of their ways! Since the turn of the century there have been a ton of conservation initiatives that have been put in place to help it on its recovery, and it's obviously working!

There has been a lot of whales that are using this area, and not just this year, last year we saw grey whales, humpback whales, and orca consistently in the area, as well as schools of fish, seals, Sea Lions, and lots more wildlife using the area. It goes to show how ecosystems can bounce back and recover, even from such terrible events.

This lovely photo was taken during our time with some orca in Howe Sound recently.

05/22/2024

Welcome back to another one of Zig Zag's calves: Schooner! 🐋 ⛵

Schooner is Zig Zag's 2021 calf, and has been seen this year hanging out with Scuba, Zig Zag's 2019 calf! This sibling pair has been moving up and down the Sunshine Coast lunge feeding along the way.

We are interested to see if these two stick together this year, or if it's just a temporary affiliation.

This is a fascinating association because a few years back we still assumed the Humpbacks were fairly solitary, now that the numbers are increasing in our waters we think we were wrong! To learn more about this encounter see our recent sightings blog here https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2024/5/7/may-6-2024.

Schooner is a beautiful whale, even though this year their tail fluke hasn't been recorded yet. Instead, we ID'd Schooner based on their dorsal fin, like the one shown here!

05/20/2024

When you're in Howe Sound and you try to get a beautiful landscape shot, only to have an Orca photobomb you instead... 🙄

Just kidding, we always love when we can get shots of our whales with a beautiful background!