June 2nd - T46Bs outside Nanaimo Harbour!

The trip on June 2nd lucked out and got to see whales not even 1o minutes after leaving the dock! The T46Bs were once again right outside of Nanaimo Harbour travelling up north.

T46B2 (left) and T46B aka Raksha (right) travelling together. Photo by Val Watson.

This pod has been getting a lot of publicity lately because it contains the white whale, T46B1B Kanaka! The pod consists of 8 individuals, two reproductive females and their offspring. There are two very young whales, including Kanaka, shown below.

Telling them apart is easy, partially due to the white colouration of Kanaka, but also because both youngsters have other characteristics that set them apart. T46B1B has intense scarring on his back. This scarring is called Rake marks and is caused by the teeth of other orca. Rake marks on orca is pretty common and can be from complications in birth, discipline from other pod members, or from attacks. In this case, the reasoning for the scars are unknown.

Possible rake marks visible on sadle patch of adult whale in the pod. Can you spot them? Photo by Val Watson.

The other calf has a very distinct dorsal fin. The fin has a prominent hook to it, as you can see from the pictures below.

Calf with the hooked dorsal (left) surfacing with another member of the pod (right). Photo by Val Watson.

Seeing all of these young whales in this pod is a very promising sight! This pod has 4 or 5 calfs born since 2010. This confirms what research tells us, that the transient population is healthy and growing! We got plenty of awesome pictures from the day, check them out below!

Kanaka can be hard to spot through the waves! Photo by Val Watson.

Four members of the pod surfacing together! Photo by Val Watson.

Raksha surfacing outside Nanaimo. Photo by Val Watson.

Two youngsters surfacing with another member of their pod. Normal colouration to the left and white to the right. Photo by Val Watson.

Jilann LechnerJune 6, 2019Comment