On July 4th our seals, sea lions and otters seem to have stolen the show from our only humpback, Fader.
There were plenty of adorable harbour seals around today, showing off their fuzzy flippers and puppy-dog like eyes. There’s a reason these guys are often called water-dogs or sea-puppies.

We also found a juvenile bald eagle who was busy grooming their feathers and didn’t seem to notice our prying eyes.

The local river otter troop was once again snuggled up on the docks near our boats, so we were able to get quite a few photos as they took turns grooming each other.

The Steller sea lions have once again taken over the UM buoy near Gabriola Island, using it as a perfect resting spot when they aren’t out fishing for lunch.

During our morning trip we came across a little seal pup rolling in the kelp. Harbour seals begin pupping as early as April and can pup through to September, but they peak in June and July. These pups are often spotted by well-intentioned people on the shores and are reported as being abandon, some people even go as far as to try and “rescue” the pups.
It’s very important to remember that seal pups are often left unattended on the shores by their mom. The mothers are almost always near by, grabbing a quick bite to eat and keeping an eye on their pup from the water. Mom will not go back to her pup if she thinks there is any potential threats nearby. Instead she will watch from the water until all is safe before she returns to the pup. This is to try and prevent predators from noticing the pup in the first place! Pups often blend in well to their surrounding, but a seal rushing out of the water does not. Seals also do not move well on land, and have very little in the way of defense against arial predators. It’s better for mom to wait where she is and not draw attention to her pup by trying to get back to them when there are potential dangers.

We got to watch this little ball of fluff rolling in the kelp to try and keep themselves cool while mom was off fishing.

We did manage to find ourselves a humpback in the Strait of Georgia in the afternoon. Fader was doing deep dives, filling their belly with delicious food, and showing off that beautiful tail.

July 4th - Fader the Humpback Whale and Harbour seals galore

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