Big Animal Encounters

Big Animal Encounters Whales, Bears and Diving. Exploring British Columbia's rugged coastline for 30 years! With locations in Campbell River, Comox and Courtenay!

Jump on board one of our covered, heated boats, or hold on tight for a wild ride aboard one of our high speed zodiacs. Our experienced crew will take you on an adventure in search of the big animals of British Columbia!

One of 17 humpbacks spotted on our 4 hour tour 🐋The Salish Sea is packed right now with feeding whales - and moments lik...
08/25/2026

One of 17 humpbacks spotted on our 4 hour tour 🐋

The Salish Sea is packed right now with feeding whales - and moments like this.

📸 Guest photo - Aug 23. Thank you for capturing this!

08/25/2026

Ground control to humpback: you are go for launch 🚀

No engines. 40,000 kg. Wild power. That’s about 14 tonnes heavier than a rocket (SpaceX Falcon 9), before fuel.

The ocean has been running this program a lot longer than we have.

Come see the original lift off in Campbell River daily 🐋

We're still talking about yesterday's tour.Bute Inlet was alive yesterday. Grizzlies working the shoreline, then orcas a...
08/23/2026

We're still talking about yesterday's tour.

Bute Inlet was alive yesterday. Grizzlies working the shoreline, then orcas and humpback whales on the ride back.

📸 Guest photos — Aug 22

Have you been out with us this season? Send us your photos or tag us in your posts — we'd love to share them here!

How a humpback eats without teeth.A common question on tour: Do humpbacks have teeth? Nope — they have baleen.Here's how...
08/19/2026

How a humpback eats without teeth.

A common question on tour: Do humpbacks have teeth? Nope — they have baleen.

Here's how it works:

1. Lunge - This humpback launches into a bait ball of krill from below.
2. Engulf - Its throat pleats stretch open and it takes in up to 70,000 litres of water and fish in one massive gulp.
3. Filter - See the bristle-like structure inside the mouth? That's baleen. The whale pushes the water out through the baleen plates, trapping the fish inside to swallow. Baleen is made of keratin (the same material as our fingernails).

Lots of lunge feeding up the coast right now, and it's how humpbacks are fuelling up before their migration south.

📸 Gilbert from Comox last week — thank you so much for sharing them with us!

Can you spot the baleen?

08/16/2026

pure joy on the Salish Sea sounds like weeeeeeeeeeeeee 🐬

big pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins playing in Discovery Passage. Full backflips, side-by-side jumps, pure wild joy.

08/15/2026

You’re not seeing water. You’re seeing a whale’s breath.

Want to see it in person? We’re out here daily 🐋

POV: Your guest takes better photos than you 😅Orcas + humpbacks before lunch. Just another day out of Campbell River.Por...
08/12/2026

POV: Your guest takes better photos than you 😅

Orcas + humpbacks before lunch. Just another day out of Campbell River.

Porpoising Bigg's, a rainbow humpback blow, and a perfect fluke dive. All on one tour last week.

We love it when our guests share their perspective. Have photos from your trip with us? Send them our way!

📸 Cyril Ploton — thank you for letting us share these!

08/10/2026

Bare necessities: the basics
Bear necessities: salmon

No animation studio needed here. Just raw, wild and unscripted grizzly bear magic 🤎

📍 Bute Inlet, BC

Address

129-1340 Island Highway
Campbell River, BC
V9W8C9

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Saturday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Sunday 7:30am - 6:30pm

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