April 21st - Transient Orcas (T100s and T18s) Found near Nanaimo and Strait of Georgia

April 21st, 2018

What a lucky day in the whale watching world! Our open boat "Cascadia" headed out under sunny skies in choppy seas, which made for a fun ride across the Strait of Georgia. We visited the T100 family just off the North arm of the Fraser river, and watched as they continued to travel North. 

The 40-year-old matriarch of the T100 pod headed right for our vessel! We shut down our engines to let her pass by peacefully. Photo by Jilann Campbell.

We watched in awe as the matriarch, known as T100 or "Hutchins", crossed our bow. What an afternoon! Photo by Val Watson, cropped and zoomed.

We were almost back home in Nanaimo when we were surprised by more orcas! Turned out to be the T18 pod near Snake island. Instead of heading back to the dock, we stayed out a bit longer to watch them.

The T18 pod is unmistakable. T19B is a 23-year-old male with a large dorsal fin (even for a whale!) that leans significantly to the left. The family also includes T19 who is one of the oldest transient orca in this population, she'll be 50 years old next year! 

T19B shows his unusual dorsal fin while surfacing near Snake island. Photo by Val Watson, cropped and zoomed.

After hanging out with TWO pods of orca, we finally called it a day. 

Now that spring is officially here and the weather has warmed up, we're more excited than ever to see what the rest of our season will bring. We hope you'll join us on our next whale watching adventure!