May 25, 2025, 3:30 PM - Having a whale of a time
It was a wonderful day as we had two boats departing from Nanaimo Harbour for an exciting afternoon on the water. The journey began with a crossing of the Strait of Georgia, heading toward the stunning Howe Sound. Before long, we spotted what we were searching for: blows in the distance! These turned out to belong to a pair of humpback whales who have been spending time together in the area: Malachite (BCY1463) and Wisp (BCY1464)!
Both whales appeared to be feeding, moving along the shoreline of Bowen Island, likely scooping up all sorts of tasty treats as they went. Humpback whales are filter feeders, using the baleen plates that hang from the roof of their mouths to strain krill and small schooling fish from the massive volumes of water they gulp in. When they first return to our waters after their long migration, they are highly focused on feeding, as little to no food is available during their time in the south. Upon returning, they work to rebuild the fat reserves that will sustain them during their next migration at the end of the year. We like to think of this as the ultimate yo-yo diet!
While we were enjoying our time with Malachite and Wisp, we received a shore-based report of orcas spotted near Vancouver Island, closer to Nanoose Bay. Eager for the chance to encounter more wildlife, we decided to try our luck and left the humpbacks to their feeding.
We made our way back across the strait, spotting even more humpback whales in the distance—a promising sign that summer is nearly in full swing! As the season progresses, we expect to see more and more humpbacks returning to our waters. But today, our attention was focused on orcas. Soon, our search paid off when we encountered a group of about seven orcas travelling near the Ballenas Islands. After capturing some photos, we were able to identify them as the T100Bs travelling with the T123s, meaning the following whales were present:
T100B ♀ Freya (1997)
T100B1 Seidr (2010)
T100B3 (2024)
T123 Sidney ♀ (~1985)
T123A Stanley ♂ (2000)
T123C Lucky ♀ (2012)
T123D Darcy ♀ (2018)
These orcas were moving together in a loosely spaced formation. Seeing different pods of Bigg’s (transient) orcas travelling together is quite common in our region. Orcas travel in matrilineal groups, meaning a female leads her offspring. Since they usually travel with the same close family members, meeting up with other pods can be a social event, and sometimes even a breeding opportunity.
Orcas don't breed throughout their entire lives; females typically reach sexual maturity between 10 and 13 years of age and will go through menopause close to 40 years old. While males can become reproductively mature around the same age, they often don’t breed successfully until they are much older and bigger. A large, impressive male like Stanley, now 25 years old, might be entering his prime breeding years. Research shows that only a few of the oldest, largest males father most of the calves in a population, so the competition is tough.
During our encounter, we didn’t see any signs of breeding behaviour. It appeared the two pods were simply enjoying each other’s company as they travelled together. We certainly enjoyed our time with them, too. But eventually, we had to start the journey back to Nanaimo.
The return trip was beautiful, with the sun beginning to set and painting the landscape in warm hues. As we cruised back into the harbour, we felt incredibly grateful for the amazing wildlife sightings we had experienced throughout the tour. Our onboard Marine Naturalists, Aly Kohlman and Desarae Poier, captured some fantastic photos of the day’s encounters, which you can enjoy below!
Harbour seals stretched out on the rocks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A flock of surf scoters floating by. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A large fuzzy Steller Sea Lion napping with a few small sized ones in comparison to him! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Oh come on, I just dried off! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The mature male Steller Sea Lions get up to 2800 pounds! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Malachite and Wisp surfacing together. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Malachite, what a blow! Photo by Desarae Poier.
Wisp breaking the surface with Malachite following. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Chin slap! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A little closer look at our chin slapper. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Desarae Poier.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T100B1 Seidr. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T100B1 Seidr. Photo by Desarae Poier.
T100B1 Seidr. Photo by Desarae Poier.
T123 Sidney in front of the coastal mountains. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T100B3 with T100B1 Seidr just breaking the surface and T100B Freya just in front. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T123D Darcy. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Family and friends photo! How many orca can you spot? Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A rostrum lift from T100B Freya behind T090C Tigger. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T123A Stanley. Photo by Desarae Poier.
A turkey vulture, natures clean up crew! Photo by Desarae Poier.
Can you see the large nostril holes? Photo by Desarae Poier.
Another one of our clean up crew scavenging on a harbour seal. Photo by Desarae Poier.
A closer look at our bald eagle with their prize. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Coming in for a landing. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Grabbing some take out! Photo by Desarae Poier.
Check out the talons on this bald eagle! Photo by Desarae Poier.