It is a good thing that there has not been a law passed about taking one handed photos while driving a boat – or I would miss some of my better opportunities. This is a dall’s porpoise that came to visit while we were waiting for a humpback whale to surface so I really was not driving….
Tag Archives: Dall porpoise
Dall’s and Humpback Whales
We were off Cracroft Point this summer on a whale watching safari and spotted a humpback whale rolling on it’s back with pectoral fins in the air and as we moved closer saw a number of pacific white sided dolphins having some fun with the whale. Hard to move the boat closer with a camera in my hand so I put it down but missed a picture showing a few dall’s porpoise mixed in with the dolphins. This dall’s and dolphin mixture is even rarer than them playing with humpbacks which happens several times a summer.
Dall’s Porpoise are Playfull
These small chunky cetaceans have black and white markings that give them the appearance of a mini Killer Whale / Orca. There have been reports by people mistaking Dall’s porpoises for baby Orca, but the lack of white eye patches and a much smaller dorsal fin is definitely a Dall’s.
Dall’s Porpoise travel in small groups of two to eight animals rarely in larger groups of around twenty-five. They zip about quickly in random back and forth patterns looking for food. As they speed through the water, they throw a rooster tail type of splash. This is quite distinctive as they shoot along just below the surface of the ocean. They are known to travel at around 30 knots (56 kph or 35 mph). With all this speed it can be a challenge getting good photos. For this reason we often stop and they will make passes by the boat and sometimes we get lucky. They are very playful and are at times known to harass humpback whales see tomorrows post…..
Interesting Guest Photos
In my ten years of guiding for Grizzly Bear Lodge I believe this is the best photo I have seen of a dall porpoise. “Dall’s porpoises do not exhibit the typical shy and secretive behaviour typical of most other porpoises. They are very fast swimmers and can reach speeds of 55km/h, making them the fastest swimmers of all small cetaceans, at least for short bursts. They often swim in a zigzag pattern with fast, jerky, steep angled turns. It is this erratic swimming behaviour that makes them so easily identified.” A quote from the website http://dallsporpoise.org which is hosted by two non-profit organizations dedicated to conserving whale, dolphin and porpoise species in their natural environment: Environmental Investigation Agency and Campaign Whale. This erratic behaviour is also what makes them so very hard to photograph and I must admit Tim O’Neil of Great Britain managed to obtain an excellent photo.
