The sun was shining as we headed out for the first adventure of the day. Kula, our semi-covered vessel, pushed off and began searching, looking for blows, fins, or flukes - in other words, any signs of whales. All of the whales we observe on our trips are free of trackers and tags, and this is the main reason why it is so important to start searching as soon as you begin your trip. You never know where whales will be - sometimes they are right at our harbour (or if we are really lucky, sometimes INSIDE our harbour), sometimes we have to search for a bit before we find them.

After some searching, there they were! A couple of humpbacks were travelling along, big blows flying into the air, backs cutting through the water, and huge flukes raising high into the air. As we approached, we saw the ultimate humpback behaviour - a huge breach from one of the whales! Unfortunately, we were unable to snap any photos of this, but it was amazing to see regardless!

Once we were well situated on scene, our marine naturalist Des began working on ID’ing these two. Snapping away, we got some fluke shots and were able to identify this pair as Anvil’s 2022 calf (BCZ0410 calf 2022) and Harpy (BCZ0503)!

While we were observing them, it seemed like they were not travelling together, but more so travelling in the same general area at the same time. They were likely busy foraging away individually, packing on the weight in preparation for the next migration season.

Harpy is a known female humpback. Humpbacks show a very very small amount of sexual dimorphism, meaning the males and females look nearly identical. But in Harpy’s case, we were able to snap a photo of the one thing that you can use to tell the females and males apart - the hemispherical lobe! This grapefruit-sized bump is very hard to capture a photo of, as you need the whale to be belly up and the water needs to splash in just the right way to not obstruct the photo. However, back in 2023, we were able to get that perfect shot with her! This bump still stumps scientists to this day as they are unsure what exactly its function is. Hopefully, one day, as we continue researching and learning about our gentle giants, we will know more about how they work!

While Anvil’s 2022 calf is likely still too young to breed, Harpy potentially might be able to now. 5 years old is a bit young for a humpback to have a calf, but we have had at least one wonder mother do it before - that being Olympus (BCX2075)! Olympus is travelling with her second-ever calf right now, at 7 years old! We will be waiting with bated breath in anticipation to see if Harpy brings a little one back in tow next year once she returns from the breeding grounds.

After a bit, our time with Anvil’s 2022 calf and Harpy was up, and we went back into search mode while crossing the Strait. The next destination was Stinky Rocks, a small rocky outcropping along Valdez Island, just south of Gabriola Pass. This cluster of rocky islands is a haven for our pinnipeds, including Steller Sea Lions and Harbour Seals as they haul themselves out of the water to rest and recuperate.

At the very southern tip, our sea lions huddle together. This can look a bit amusing, as there is usually a large portion of Stinky Rocks that remains sea lion-free. With how territorial and aggressive sea lions can be, this may seem like a confusing choice on their part, but they have a good reason! Huddling together like this can help them conserve body heat during the colder times of the month. Even so, it’s always funny hearing them squabbling away, complaining as one of them moves in their cuddle puddle, when there is so much other room for them to lounge in further down the rocks.

Just a bit closer to shore is the rock our Harbour Seals prefer to snooze on. The seals are significantly quieter and are much stronger believers in personal space. While they will still sit nose-to-nose, they usually don’t clamber on top of each other. Today, a couple of them were stretching away, enjoying the sun to its full extent. Living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, our seals do not travel very far in their lives. Many Harbour seals are believed to stay within a few kilometres of their natal area their entire lives!

Besides the seals and sea lions, we also saw another creature meandering along Stinky Rocks - a River Otter! We have a couple of River Otters who like to fish and forage off of Stinky Rocks every year, cozying up in the small divots of the rock carved out by the waves when they decide to rest. This can be a bit confusing as we are travelling in the ocean, but yes, we are sure these are indeed River Otters! Sea Otters are extirpated (locally extinct) from our area, with the first documented sighting in 100 years being from last year in Dodd Narrows. River Otters can also be identified by their long, pointy tails versus the flat paddle-like tails of their ocean cousins. This little one was busy enjoying a late lunch while we watched them.

Once we had our fill of pinniped and mustelid time, we began the journey back to Nanaimo, taking in the breathtaking views along the way. The mountainscape was stunning as always, and we were even able to take a peek at Mt.Baker down in Washington too!

Please enjoy the trip’s photos taken by Marine Naturalist Desarae Poier!

June 8, 2025, 10:30 AM - Young humpbacks by Bowen Island