May 13th - An unforgettable Mother's Day with Humpbacks, Orcas and more!
It was gorgeous weather on Mother's Day, so we took our two boats, Quick Change II and Cascadia, and left Nanaimo Harbour to do what we like most, spend the day at sea watching the wildlife of Salish Sea.
Our first stop was on Entrance Island to watch a lot of noisy California sea lions and Steller sea lions. The Steller sea lion is the largest of the eared seals (Otariidae), and the third largest specie among all the pinnipeds, losing in size only to the walrus and the two elephant seals species. The male Steller sea lion can reach over than 3.25 m (10.7 ft) and weight more than 1 ton while the females can measure until 2.9m (9.5 ft) in length, and weigh 350 kg (770 lb).
Steller sea lions enjoying the sun. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
After that we headed south along the Georgia Strait where we found a humpback whale identified as BCZ-CS513, known more affectionately as "Anvil". This individual has been known by our partners at Keta Coastal Conservation since 2016.
The Humpback whale has a distinctive stubby dorsal fin. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
Anvil's fluke. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
We said goodbye to Anvil and travelled South a little more until we found at least 5 Harbour porpoises and also a pod of 8 Orcas identified as the T63A's and T65's. One of the Orcas was our old friend T63 or "Chainsaw", one of the most famous Bigg's Orca of the Salish Sea, who was born in 1978. Chainsaw has this unique and easily identifiable dorsal fin which is the reason for his fame.
T63 Chainsaw . Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
Photo by Mike Campbell
Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
Harbour porpoise swimming near to the Orcas. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes
We have tours every day so please call us or go online today to reserve your seats and come with us on our next adventure!