Every day is a new gorgeous adventure on the water, and we are always excited to see what new adventures the day will bring us!

Our semi-covered vessel, Kula, began the day’s tour by heading southbound into the Southern Gulf Islands. The picture-perfect scenery from the inner islands’ coastlines is always awe-inspiring, even more so when we find whales there too!

Excitingly, that is precisely what we got to experience today. After journeying south, we found our orca in Sansum Narrows, a winding narrow passage that connects Stuart Channel to Satellite Channel.

Our onboard Naturalist began taking photos of these whales for identification purposes. From these photos, we can cross-match things like their dorsal fins, their saddle patches (greyish-white area behind their dorsal), and their eyepatches to confirm who is who. These whales were identified as the T075Bs with their brand new little calf in tow:

T075B Pebbles ♀ (1995)
T075B2 Jasper ♂ (2015)
T075B3 Rubble ♂ (2017)
T075B4 Petra ♀ (2021)
T075B5 ♀ (2025)

T075B5 is very, very little. Their first confirmed sighting was on August 22nd, meaning they are likely only a few weeks old, and this was our first encounter with them since the birth of the calf! Each and every calf’s birth is exciting, as mortality rates in calves under a year old are on the higher end. While we do not have statistics specifically for Transient calf mortality rates, the critically endangered Southern Residents are believed to have a staggering 50% mortality rate for calves. It is believed that Transient calf rates are a bit lower, but there has not been enough data collected on them to have a more specific percentage at this time. Calf mortality can be caused by a variety of different things - one of the main concerns for our orca is bioaccumulation of toxins in their mothers, which is transferred to their calves. PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), for example, are a huge concern for these large apex predators, and have been documented in alarmingly high rates in both our Resident and Transient orca populations. Interestingly, there has been a documented decline in PCB levels in actively reproducing females. This is likely because, as they produce milk for their young, the fats in their bodies containing the chemicals are converted over to their milk stores. Sadly, this leads to a noticeably high mortality rate in firstborn calves (likely experiencing the highest accumulation of toxins). Still, it appears that future calves seem to have a higher survival rate. With T075B5 being Pebbles’ fifth child, we are eager and hopeful we will get to watch this little one grow up big and strong for many more decades to come.

While we were with the T075Bs, they were busily travelling along, with the young calf tucked beside T075B Pebbles, their mother, for the vast majority of the encounter. When very young, calves are commonly spotted in the ‘echelon’ position, tucked up nice and close to their mother. In this position, the calf can ride its mother’s slipstream, reducing drag and the amount of energy it has to burn to keep up with the pod. Calves are born with very thin layers of blubber, meaning it is crucial for them to pack on the weight fast to keep nice and warm in our frigid waters!

As the sun began to set, casting a beautiful orange glow over our whales, it was time for us to continue on our way and head out to the next stop for the day. We made our way back north, cruising along and enjoying the gorgeous afternoon. Our journey took us to a small rocky islet where one of our most prolific pinniped species was hauled out - a small bob of Harbour Seals! These pinnipeds are the primary prey source for our Transient orca, so seeing them at a high and healthy population is an excellent sign for the longevity of our Transient orca.

These seals didn’t seem to have a care in the world, though, as they were spread out, stretching, yawning, and dozing away. Harbour Seals live a sedentary lifestyle, with many of them having tiny home ranges that they rarely venture out of. They also do not migrate, so a huge portion of their time is spent simply snoozing, sunbathing, and hunting for a snack! That sounds like a pretty great lifestyle, if you ask us!

Once we left our Harbour Seals behind, we continued northward, crossing back through Dodd Narrows towards our final stop of the evening. The Gabriola Bluffs, a steep cliffside found on the southwestern side of Gabriola Island, is a rookery for an interesting bird species known as the Cormorant. Along the bluffs, two varieties of Cormorant can be commonly spotted: The Double-Crested Cormorant and the Pelagic Cormorant. The smaller Pelagic Cormorants tend to cling to the rockfaces and nest in the crevices of the bluffs, whereas the Double-Crested Cormorants tend to nest high up in the trees at the northern point of the bluffs. The cormorants were busy settling down in their nests and getting ready for the night’s sleep. After seeing them getting cozy, we departed the bluffs and made our way back to Nanaimo, wrapping up an excellent day adventuring through the Salish Sea!

Please enjoy these photos by Marine Naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen!

September 1, 2025, 3:30 PM - An afternoon with a bouncy baby and her family