April 1, 2021 - First day back on the water and we found killer whales "Chainsaw" and friends!

It’s been awhile! After a long winter our crew was ecstatic to get back out on the water and explore our backyard in search of whales and other wildlife. Naturalist Val and Captain Rodrigo headed south into the Strait of Georgia and it didn’t take them too long to find killer whales!

And not just any killer whale, they found the infamous “Chainsaw” (T063)! This adult male orca is easy to recognize because of his large, chainsaw-like dorsal fin. We quite often see him in the spring on our whale watching tours.

Chainsaw was traveling with his usual companion, a female orca T065 “Whidbey II”. Whidbey II is estimated to be born around 1968 and Chainsaw was born in 1978! These two were traveling south at a quick speed and Val managed to get some beautiful shots of this unique fin slicing through the water.

Shortly after, two more killer whales were found in the vicinity. An adult female “Langara” (T10) was traveling south, and off in the distance was her son “Bones” (T10C). Langara was born around 1964 and Bones was born in 1999. Langara’s dorsal fin has a large notch right at the bottom, and Bones’s fin is tall and wide, with lots of scarring in his white saddle patch.

We also stopped by Entrance Island, just north of Gabriola Island, to watch a large group of sea lions clamber around on the rocks. These animals have been around all winter and sometimes you can see them from shore in the coves around Nanaimo.

Here are some of the best photos taken by Val Watson. If you’d like to join us for an adventure, we are running daily tours at 12pm from downtown Nanaimo. We guarantee you’ll see a whale or your next trip is free!

(COVID restrictions in place)

Jilann LechnerApril 4, 2021Comment