Vancouver Island Whale Watch

08/20/2025

Lungefeeding - have you ever seen this feeding technique before? 🤔

08/13/2025

Breaching: one of the most exciting behaviours that we see during our tours, but also quite rare. But Why?

A breach from a whale is the most energetically expensive thing that happens in the animal kingdom, in a single action. They need to reach an incredible speed of nearly 18 knots (~30 km/hr) to breach the surface, consuming the energy equivalent of the average human running an entire marathon!

Even though it's a huge energy requirement, it doesn't stop the whales from doing it! They may be breaching for a variety of reasons, such as knocking off parasites, communicating with others over long distances, or just for socialization and fun!

We had an amazing viewing of this power from a humpback whale: KEX0082, during our tour on July 20th, where marine naturalist Desarae Poier captured these fantastic shots!

08/07/2025

It's Humpback Baby Season!

We are seeing so many babies being brought back to the Salish Sea during our tours! Seeing these adorable little humpbacks learning and playing by their mom's side is something incredibly special as they continue to grow and thrive.

Did you know that a humpback whale's milk is super rich in fat? Instead of a human's 56% fat, a humpback's is an astounding 85%! This calorically rich food helps the humpbacks gain a ton of weight in this first year, preparing them to separate from their mothers after their first year together.

Although they don't have long-term associations with their mother past their first year, the calves that we are seeing this year should return to the same area that their mom travels to, so we should be seeing them a lot more in the following years!

These photos show one of our local humpback mamas, Split Fluke, playing with her 2025 calf during our tour on July 21!

📸: Marine Naturalist Val Watson 🐋

07/29/2025

“Do orcas and humpbacks ever interact?”

That’s one of the most common questions we get during our tours, and the answer is: yes, sometimes they do!

Most of the time, they pass each other without much fuss. But every now and then, something more dramatic unfolds…

On July 1st, we witnessed one of those rare moments. A massive T-Party of 22 Bigg’s orcas had gathered in the Strait, and nearby, a group of five humpbacks caught their attention. What followed was a tense standoff. We’re not sure who started it, but we were lucky enough to watch it all unfold!

While adult humpbacks are far too large to be typical prey for orcas in our region, that doesn’t always stop the orcas from engaging. These interactions can get intense, but humpbacks aren’t easy targets, especially when they fight back with powerful tail slaps and sheer size.

This photo of humpback whale Scrimmage and orca T123A Stanley was taken by our Marine Naturalist, Desarae Poier, right in the middle of the action.

07/28/2025

🐋 We have HUGE news! 🐋

We are so excited to announce that we are one of the Top Finalists for a Best of the City award in the Best Tourism Activity / Adventure Business section! 🥰 Thank you for your support!

There is one last voting session on now before the winner is determined - Please consider voting for us!

Vote for us here! 👉 https://nanaimobulletin.secondstreetapp.com/Best-of-the-City-2025/

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND…NANAIMO’S BEST OF THE CITY 2025 Celebrate the spirit of Nanaimo by recognizing the people and businesses that make our community truly outstanding! Vote for your local favourites in the 2025 Best of the City Awards. Voting runs from July 25 to August 10 and winners will be...

07/25/2025

Breach for the Sky!

These photos are of T090D Kanga during an encounter with their pod just outside the Nanaimo Harbour on July 29, 2021, taken by Brad Farrow.

07/24/2025

If you've read our blogs, been on a tour, or seen our social media, you may know that we use Humpback flukes (tails) to identify the individuals. But do you know what we are looking for on those tails? 🔎

Here are some key features:

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞: The outer edge of a humpback's fluke is often jagged, and potentially could have notches in it, which can help confirm their identity (Example: BCY1226 Calypso)

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞: While not used as often as the Trailing Edge, the Leading Edge sometimes has entanglement scarring on it, which we can cross-reference to confirm the whale's identity (Example: BCX1774 Seabird)

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: A humpback's fluke markings are as unique to them as a fingerprint is to us. Those speckles, lines, dashes and dots can all be used to confirm the individual whale (Example: BCY1014 calf 2023 Poptart's 2023 calf (pictured below))

𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬: While not commonly used, fluke tip shape (or sometimes, the lack of fluke tips!) can be used for identification (Example: BCX1773 Valiant)

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡: The shape of the centre notch on a humpback's fluke is sometimes unique enough to confirm their identity (Example: BCX1640 Bond)

📸: Desarae Poier, June 15, 2025

07/15/2025

Did you know Humpback Whales are filter feeders? 🐋

Instead of teeth, they have up to 400 plates of baleen hanging from the roof of their mouths, like a giant keratin sieve! These plates trap tiny prey like krill and small schooling fish, while the whale pushes the water back out.

Despite weighing up to 35 tonnes, Humpbacks feed on some of the ocean's tiniest creatures, but they make up for it in volume, eating around a ton of food per day! 🦐💨

These photos show Graphite (BCX2077) lunge feeding at the surface during our June 12 afternoon tour. Look closely, you can see those baleen plates in action!

📸: Marine Naturalist Val Watson

07/12/2025

Triple Breach!

It's not very often we see the whales breaching all at the same time like this with such synchronized behaviour, but on July 10th of 2019, we saw just that while watching the T065As.

Thankfully the Marine Naturalist onboard, Natalie Reichenbacher, was fast with the camera and captured these amazing photos!

07/10/2025

Recognize this pectoral fin? It belongs to Two Spot! 🐋

Did you know that a humpback whale’s unique markings and scars aren’t just on their tail flukes? Their pectoral fins, dorsal fins, and even their bodies can have distinct patterns too!

Spotting a humpback’s long pectoral fins isn’t always guaranteed, but when we do, we’ve started noticing something incredible—recognizable patterns! This particular one always stood out to us because it looks so much like a face.

After some careful observation, we realized it belongs to Two Spot! In fact, there have been times when our naturalists identified him just by his pectoral fin alone.

As we continue our whale-watching adventures, we hope to match more pectoral fins to individual whales—adding yet another way to identify these incredible animals!

📸1: Ryan Uslu, July 10, 2022
📸2: Val Watson, June 28, 2024
📸3: Vanessa Vereschahen, September 4, 2023

07/01/2025

Orcas are true mama’s boys—and the T101s are the perfect example! 🖤🐳

Meet T101 Reef, the matriarch of her pod. At 56 years old, she’s long past the reproductive stage (since orcas go through menopause around 40), but that doesn’t mean she’s any less important. In fact, she’s the heart of her family, guiding her two grown sons, T101A Rush and T101B Lagoon, through the Salish Sea and beyond.

Reef also has a daughter, T100 Hutchins, who has dispersed from her mother and siblings, but her sons will stay by her side for life—or at least for as long as she’s around. Male orcas are known for their close bond with their mothers, and they rely on them for survival, learning where to find food, how to socialize, and how to navigate tough times.

Since her son's dorsal fins tower over the smaller Reef, this pod is often described as "two adults and a baby" but really it's the two boys who will remain mama's boys for as long as they're all around.

In this photo from July 2024, taken by Naturalist Aly Kohlman, you can see the smaller Reef tucked between her two sons—Lagoon in front and Rush behind—demonstrating just how tight-knit this family truly is.

06/30/2025

31 orca, 62 humpbacks, 1 grey, 1 minke.... 95 different whales! 😱