This tour was a special one, as we partnered with The Orca Man to bring the World of Orca Tour to Nanaimo! The day looked full of adventure as guests and crew climbed aboard Kula, our semi-covered vessel, and we set out.

Earlier in the day, we had spotted a large group of orca travelling north, so we decided that was our best direction to head for the afternoon as well. The best and worst thing about the whales is that they are out in the wild, going where they want, when they want. It’s, of course, the way it should be, but it can make it difficult for us to figure out where they are going! So, with that in mind, we headed towards Qualicum to try our luck at relocating those whales.

We had our eyes peeled for any signs of whales in the water. That could mean strange splashing, blows in the distance, or the dorsal fins or tails of the whales at the surface. In this case, it was splashing that caught our eye while we were searching near Lasqueti Island. As we got closer, we could make out the shape of the animal causing this commotion, and it turned out to be a humpback whale! This whale, whom we identified as Arial (BCX0767), seemed to have A LOT of extra energy, as he not only breached non-stop during the time we spent with him, but after we continued our search north, we spotted him again on the way back, still breaching.

Although we never did relocate those orca, Arial more than made up for it with his acrobatic display! It’s impressive to see even one breach given how much energy it takes, so seeing as many as we did was even more special. Breaching out of the water like Arial was doing is thought to be the #1 most energetically expensive activity in the animal kingdom, taking approximately 2% of their average daily energy. While that might not seem that bad, it might help put into perspective how much that is, given that the same amount of energy is used for a human to run an entire marathon!

Knowing then what a huge cost it is for Arial to keep up these antics, the question becomes: why is he doing this? There are a few theories as to what he might be up to.

First, it might just be a fun activity for the whales. We humans often do things just for fun that might not directly impact any aspect of our lives. Fun activities can develop and hone skills that are used in other aspects of our lives, even without direct benefit at the time.

Secondly, breaching is thought to be used for long-distance communication with our whales. While we aren’t sure what they would be signalling, maybe rich feeding grounds, their general presence, or something else, we do know that we often see “responses” in the form of large splashes off in the distance. We didn’t notice this today, so it might have been for option 3: knocking off parasites.

Humpback whales are covered in ride-alongs such as barnacles and lice. These little critters, in small numbers, don’t cause too many issues for the large whales, but when they become too abundant, they can increase drag and significantly increase the energy demands on the whales swimming through the water.

Looking through the photos, we noticed that Arial was sporting more barnacles on his body than we typically see, so we think option 3 might have been the reason for his activity. But, no matter the reason why he was up to all this activity, we sure did enjoy watching it!

After a while, we decided to continue our search for other wildlife, but didn’t find anything else before we returned to Nanaimo. Overall, it was a very exciting day, getting to enjoy the sights while we searched, and, of course, getting to see Arial and all his activity. Please enjoy the photos captured throughout the encounter by Marine Naturalist Jordan Robinson, included below!

June 7, 2026, 3:30 PM - Arial the Humpback shows off for the World of Orca Tour