Although the clouds were blotting out the sky, we didn’t let that get us down as we had our two vessels, Kula and Keta, leaving the dock on October 26th. The boats began their search, heading south through Dodd Narrows, Ruxton Pass, and Gabriola Pass, and into the Strait of Georgia.

Before venturing too far, the semi-covered boat made their first wildlife stop of the day at a rocky haulout we lovingly call “Stinky Rocks”! This area is typically teeming with pinnipeds, with both Harbour Seals and Steller Sea Lions being a common sight. Today, it seemed that the tide was a bit too high for the seals, since they are more restricted in the level of steepness that they can haul out on. They have a fusion of their hind hips, meaning they can’t rotate their flippers underneath themselves, which prevents them from walking. Instead of walking, the Harbour Seals Gallumph, or flop around on their stomachs while moving on land. The Sea Lions, on the other hand, are very good at moving around on land. They have larger flippers that can be rotated, allowing them to walk very easily. Sometimes you will even see them running across the rocky surface, moving smoothly over one another, although you will hear a ton of protest from the others as this happens! You can understand why, given their size. Females can reach an impressive 800 pounds, while males can reach up to 2,800 pounds! That’s a heavy friend to have stepping on your side while you try to sleep!

We watched the interactions with the Sea Lions until it was time to continue the search for whales, and we are glad we did, since we found a group of 4 whales not too far from here! One of these four seemed to disappear before we could identify them, but the other three stuck around and were having some very interesting interactions! One of the whales was immediately recognizable, thanks to the large scar on the right side of his tail; it was Snoopy (BCY0770). Travelling in close quarters to Snoopy was another very recognizable whale: Divot (BCX1057). These two seemed to be mainly focused on interacting with each other, socializing at the surface before dipping below the waves, likely feeding. While these two were cuddling at the surface, the third whale, identified as Kraken/Monarch (BCZ0180), seemed to be sticking to the outskirts of this interaction, perhaps looking on, jealous that they weren’t invited to the party? Every once in a while, all three of the whales would surface together, so they must not have minded the interruption too much!

Something interesting about all these whales is that they all have multiple nicknames. Given the age of these whales (Divot is 22, Kraken approximately 21, and Snoopy approximately 15), they would have been named and numbered during the relatively early years of humpback whale research. Now, most of the NGOs working on humpback whale research in BC are in communication and try to avoid having whales end up with multiple nicknames like this. Luckily, even with the nicknames becoming jumpbled, the scentific names won’t have the same overlap. The number listed behind the nickname is unique to each individual, and gives some information about the whale. The BC is consistant for each whale catalogued in BC, but the X, Y, or Z that follows is based on the amount of pigmentation on the bottom of the tail. You can see in the following photos how that pigment changes between the whales:

Once the classification is made, the numbers are assigned in the order of discovery, as best they can, at least! The nicknames are less consistent, usually based on something on the tail. Divot, for example, is named for the divot out of the trailing edge on the far right side of her fluke, Snoopy for the pigmentation around his notch, and Kraken for the tentacle-like scars on the left side of their fluke. Since these patterns are very open to interpretation, you can send up with different nicknames, like Snoopy’s other names, Lunar and Gibbous, named for that same notch area.

We enjoyed our time spent with these three before our boats had to leave and start the journey home. The semi-covered boat took the outside home, sticking to the Strait of Georgia, following Gabriola Island back to Nanaimo, with a quick stop to view the Harbour Seals that were enjoying the rocky beach of Snake Island. The open boat took the inside passages home, enjoying the sights of the beautiful, narrow passageways until it reached the Harmac Pulp Mill. Here, they stopped to see the log booms covered in a variety of wildlife. Bald Eagles were watching for fish from the logs, with a Great Blue Heron swooping in to do the same. Most notable here, though, were the Sea Lions! These giant animals were resting on the log booms, regaining their energy to head into the water to fish once again. It’s a great spot, given its proximity to the rich fishing grounds of Dodd Narrows and the Nanaimo River Estuary.

From their respective stops, both boats eventually found themselves back in the harbour, pleased with all the wildlife they were lucky enough to spot today. The onboard Marine Naturalists, Vanessa Vereschahen and Desarae Poier, captured some fantastic moments throughout the tour with their cameras, all of which are available for you to view below!

October 26, 2025 - A Humpback Cuddle Session

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