Whale Watching
We’re not all about the bears, whales are abundant here too!
Killer whales and humpback whales are often seen during our wildlife tours. There are resident whales and transient whales that can be seen feeding and playing in our waters.
Orcas / Killer Whales 3 of 3
Although we do see some orca in Knight Inlet we spend more time in BC’s coastal waters off Eastern Vancouver Island in an area around Telegraph Cove and Black Fish Sound. (Black Fish being another name for Orca.) Orca being members of the dolphin family are curious and will often approach boats if they are sitting quietly as shown by the photos in the previous days posting.
Getting Warmer? 2 of 3
Guess What? 1 of 3
Pacific Whitesides Dolphins Play
“(Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) The Pacific white sided dolphin is very beautiful. They have a coloring that ranges from light to dark gray. The underside of them though is white. They also have dark black rings that cover both eyes. The beak is very small and often seems out of proportion with the rest of the body. One characteristic that you will notice is that the dorsal fin has a hook on the end of it. They aren’t very large though compared to other types of dolphins. Full grown they will be about 8 feet long. They will weight approximately 300 pounds.” Taken form the website Dolphins-World
The technical write up is interesting but cannot compare to the excitement of a pod of two or three hundred dolphins playing with our boat. They are on all sides of the boat playing in the bow wave as well as sticking their nose within a meter (yard) of the prop.
Humpback Whales Also Play
Over the past five years humpback whales have become more common in the area Grizzly Bear Lodge visits on whale watching days. The area close to Johnstone Straits between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia has become the summer home of more than twenty-five whales. The area has an abundant supply of herring and the whales come to feed and stay within our viewing area for a few days before moving in and out of nearby inlets. The whales start appearing in late May and there are whales all summer some days on six or eight but most days more than a dozen whales are lunge feeding and lobtailing in our viewing area. By the size of the pectoral fin it is clear that this is one of the calves that frequent and play in our viewing area.
Sealions in the mist
Not all photos require a sunny sky to be interesting. The stellar sealions pass through the area, between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, to and from Alaska in the spring and fall. They gather on the rocky shore in the area of Telegraph Cove by the hundreds to sun themselves and rest after feeding in our area before continuing their trip. This area of BC’s coast is so rich in food for these marine mammals that several dozen in the past three years have started to stay all summer and not make the journey north.
Humpback Whales Fluke
Visiting Killer Whales / Orca
The whale / orca watching requires a short run to Johnstone Strait in the area of Telegraph Cove on BC’s Vancouver Island. Guidelines are in place to prevent whale harassment but that does not mean that we don’t manage to obtain good photos. Orca being curious will frequently investigate us while we watch them. The centre orca in this photo shows that they are coming toward us for a closer look.
Eagles on ALL tours
Bald eagles are viewed on all the tours from the lodge. It does not matter if you are on your day trip to the grizzlies in the Glendale River, whale watching in the Johnstone Strait or on the river with Trapper Rick. In fact this picture was taken from the front lawn of the lodge on Minstrel Island. The bald eagles with their white head are a majestic bird when flying over head or perched in a tree along the shore.