The day began with two of our vessels departing Nanaimo Harbour, heading south to investigate a report of orca travelling through the area. It didn’t take long before we encountered them — a group of four Bigg’s (Transient) Killer Whales, identified as the T090s.

T090 Eagle ♀ (1980)
T090B Piglet ♂ (2006)
T090C Tigger ♀ (2010)
T090D Kanga ♀ (2017)

Bigg’s orca are mammal-eating and differ significantly from their fish-eating relatives, the Resident orca. They often travel in small, tightly bonded family groups and rely on stealth and cooperation to hunt prey such as seals, sea lions, and porpoises. While this group was initially travelling in a relaxed formation, their behaviour soon shifted, their movements became quicker and more erratic, and they began changing direction frequently. These are typical signs that orca are engaged in a hunt.

Each member of a Bigg’s orca pod consumes between 200 and 500 pounds of food per day, depending on age and size. Cooperative hunting ensures the group’s success, and when a kill is made, the meal is shared among all members. This sharing reinforces social bonds within the pod and supports younger or less experienced individuals. In this case, the T090s appeared unsuccessful in their attempt, as they did not pause to feed or share prey at the surface.

Their travel route took them through Gabriola Pass, a narrow tidal channel between Gabriola and Valdes Islands. The strong currents in this area can exceed several knots, creating highly productive marine conditions. These mixing waters support dense prey populations, which in turn attract predators like orca. Once through the pass, the T090s continued northward along the outer coastline of Gabriola Island, scanning for further hunting opportunities.

After spending time observing the orca, our vessels continued to Stinky Rock, a well-known haul-out site for marine mammals. Here, we observed a mix of Harbour Seals and Steller Sea Lions, along with numerous seabirds resting on the exposed rocks. For pinnipeds, time spent out of the water is essential for thermoregulation and rest. Despite their thick layers of blubber and fur insulation, prolonged time in cold water causes significant heat loss. Hauling out allows them to maintain body temperature, socialize, and conserve energy between foraging periods.

Leaving the haul-out, our crews continued into the Strait of Georgia, where a tall column of mist signalled the presence of a humpback whale. The individual was identified as Scrimmage (BCZ0488), a regularly sighted whale in our region. Scrimmage appeared to be engaged in feeding behaviour, characterized by deep dives and high tail flukes lifted clear of the surface.

Humpbacks in British Columbia spend their summers in productive northern feeding grounds, where they consume up to one tonne of prey per day: primarily schooling fish and krill. This feeding period is critical for building up energy reserves in the form of blubber, which sustains them during their annual migration to tropical breeding grounds. Scrimmage is known to migrate to Mexico, where food is scarce, and humpbacks rely entirely on stored energy reserves throughout the winter months.

Encounters like these illustrate the ecological richness of the Salish Sea, where strong tidal currents, complex island networks, and high biological productivity support a diverse range of marine species. From top predators such as orca to filter-feeding giants like humpbacks, these waters remain a vital habitat for marine life throughout the Pacific Northwest.

All sightings and photos from the tour were documented by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Hayleigh Hilbert, whose images are included below.