Each spring, some 20,000 Gray Whales travel passed the western shore of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, en route to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival in the coastal towns of Tofino and Ucluelet kicks off an all-out celebration of the Gray Whale migration and life in general on the fabulous west coast of Vancouver Island!

The 30-ton giants can be seen from shore, as early as February, with females and calves passing by from mid March, through April and into early May. The whales are known to feed in the sheltered bays near Ucluelet beginning in March. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival, which runs from March 11 to 26, 2017 is all about the gray whales and marine life education, with whale watching tours, inspirational and interpretive walks, fun for children, culinary events, and First Nations cultural workshops. Come to Tofino and Ucluelet and experience this annual coastal tradition!

The Gray Whales return in the fall by the same route to their calving and wintering grounds in the warm-water lagoons of Baja California in Mexico. They usually travel faster and farther offshore than on the southbound leg of their migration. The 16,000 to 22,500-km round trip – depending on how far north they go – is one of the longest migrations of any mammal on earth. The whales travel throughout the day and night, and cover approximately 120 kms (75 miles) per day at an average speed of 8 kms per hour (5 miles).

• Whale Watching on Vancouver Island
• Pacific Rim Whale Festival
• More on Whales in British Columbia
• Federal Guidelines for Whale Watching
• Tofino, British Columbia
• Ucluelet, British Columbia

Orca Dreams offers Canada’s first whale watching camp, with BC packages that include 4 days of luxury camping. Orca Dreams has twenty years of experience hosting people from around the world in the wildlife-rich waters of Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago, off the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Watch surfacing humpback whales, pods of orcas, dolphins, eagles, sea lions or a curious seal pass by while sipping your morning coffee from your waterfront safari-style tent. Whale watch from camp or boat, while kayaking, surrounded by the rich wildlife of coastal BC.

Orca Dreams is situated within the traditional territory of the Mamalilikula-Qwe’Qwa’Sot’Em First Nation, on Compton Island on the edge of Blackney Pass, one of the most wildlife-rich marine ecosystems in the world. Blackney Pass connects Queen Charlotte Strait with Johnstone Strait where the strong currents churn up nutrients from deep below, feeding everything from small herring to the 40-ton humpback whales.

Blackney Pass is also one of the best places in North America to view Orcas – also known as Killer Whales – as they make their way to and from Johnstone Strait and the rubbing beaches of Robson Bight on Vancouver Island.

Orca Dreams
Box 353
Heriot Bay
Quadra Island, BC
V0P 1H0

Phone: 250-202-2765
Email: info@orcadreams.com
Website: www.orcadreams.com

 

 

Even though it has been 10 years since my first summer working with whales off northeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, there are still days that leave me stunned at how incredible this area really is in terms of the numbers, diversity, and behaviours of marine mammals found here.

Just over a week ago, I was on the Merlin, the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) research and response vessel, monitoring the behaviour of whales around the commercial fishery for chum salmon, collecting data on the numbers and locations of fishing nets and whales, and standing by in case of an entanglement. Together with Marie Fournier, who was helping MERS out with these efforts, I was sitting in the fog and light rain in Queen Charlotte Strait when we heard a loud whale blow, and looked toward Malcolm Island to see a whale with a long body and small, curved dorsal fin surfacing close to the shoreline. We were amazed and excited to see that this was a fin whale, part of a threatened population that is only very occasionally seen off northeastern Vancouver Island. While two fin whales were seen in the area in 2011 and two more in 2012, this was my first time seeing the world’s second-largest whale species here. We collected identification photographs of the fin whale for our colleagues at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and based on the shape of the dorsal fin and scarring on the whale’s body, we were able to confirm that this was a different individual from the fin whales seen in 2011 and 2012.

A rare sighting of a fin whale in Queen Charlotte Strait. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS.

After leaving the fin whale, we headed into Blackfish Sound and came across two very surface-active humpback whales. The behaviour of humpbacks at this time of year is quite different than during the summer. When humpback whales return to Vancouver Island after their winter migrations to Hawaii or Mexico where there is little to no food for them, they appear to be very focused on feeding. In the fall, however, they tend to spend more time socializing.

Humpback whales “Claw” and “Zorro” exhibiting a surface-active social behaviour called head-lobbing. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS.

On Saturday, “Claw”, a whale that was first seen in the area in 2011 and “Zorro”, a whale new to the area this year, were very surface active, interacting with one another. They were “head-lobbing” (bringing their heads out of the water and slapping them down on the water’s surface), breaching, and tail-slapping. Almost every time the whales surfaced, Zorro was behind Claw and appeared to be posturing, exhibiting behaviours similar to humpback whale males in competitive groups in the breeding grounds. We are unsure of whether this behaviour around northern Vancouver Island is related to mating, but we do know that it happens more frequently as the breeding season approaches.

Humpback whale “Claw” breaching. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS. Taken with a telephoto lens and cropped.

As we headed down to the bottom of Blackfish Sound, we saw some splashing up ahead of us, and found a group of Bigg’s (mammal-eating) killer whales chasing a Steller sea lion. The killer whales were leaping out of the water, attempting to ram the sea lion. Several hundred other Steller sea lions were in the water by the shoreline behind the killer whales.

Bigg’s killer whale attacking a Steller sea lion. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS.

Partway through the sea lion chase, two humpback whales (“Domino” and “Backsplash”) came swimming rapidly over from the other side of Blackney Pass. They immediately began interacting with the killer whales, surfacing right next to them. Shortly after, they were joined by a third humpback whale, “Quartz”. The two species of whales continued to follow and interact with one another for over half an hour. We are unsure of why these species were in such close proximity to one another… it may have been territorial behaviour, it may be that humpback whales are keeping an eye on potential danger, or there may be another reason for this behaviour. Regardless, it was a reminder of how much we have yet to understand about these two species.

Humpback whales “Quartz”, “Domino”, and “Backsplash” interacting with Bigg’s killer whales, with Steller sea lions watching. (Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS)

Eventually, the killer whales went on a long dive, and we found ourselves surrounded by a sheen of oily water from the blubber of a marine mammal – it appeared that the killer whales had finally killed a seal or sea lion and were feeding on it underwater. We collected samples of tissue in the water so that genetic analyses could be conducted to determine the species that the killer whales had eaten, and collected identification photos of the whales, using Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Bigg’s killer whale catalogue (Towers et al. 2012) to identify the killer whales as the T055 group, along with T139 and the T141s.

Humpback whale “Backsplash” interacting with T141 , an adult female mammal-eating killer whale. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS.

Our 2015 field season is now drawing to a close … my 10th year of collecting humpback whale data off northeastern Vancouver Island. A day as remarkable as this one has me looking forward to the next field season, when we can continue to address some of the many questions regarding the humpback whales in this area and the threats they face.

By Christie McMillan
President and Humpback Whale Research Director
Marine Education and Research Society
Website: www.mersociety.org
Facebook: Marine Education and Research Society

Source Article: Christie McMillan, MERS, October 28, 2015

Featured Photo: Humpback whale “Zorro” (BCX0380) breaching in Blackfish Sound. Photo by Christie McMillan, MERS. Taken with a telephoto lens and cropped.

The residents of the quaint village of Ucluelet, on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, are justifiably proud of their Ucluelet Aquarium, which exhibits the amazing marine life that inhabits the waters of neighbouring Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound.

Not out of the ordinary, you might say, but Ucluelet Aquarium is unique in that they capture their marine creatures before the commencement of each season, and release the critters safely and humanely back into their marine habitat at the end of the season.

The animals on display at Ucluelet Aquarium may not be aware that they provide a stimulating hands-on and close-up learning environment for 30,000 adults and children every year, but the interesting and beautiful specimens are quite possibly aware that their well being is the primary concern of the aquarium … and that care is evident in the respectful and careful way they are treated and exhibited.

The Catch-and-Release practice minimizes the impact on the environment and ensures that displays are always new and interesting. The aquarium is located right on the promenade on Ucluelet Harbour, with fresh seawater from the harbour flowing directly through their exhibit tanks.

Saturday, December 6th, is the big release day this year, and the public is invited to participate and assist with the heartwarming and popular venture. All marine residents, including the Great Pacific Octopus, the starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers, and many species of fish, will be returned to the wild – back into the same areas and habitat from where they were collected.

These critters will likely be warmly welcomed back into their local hood, but man, do they ever have some explaining to do. Setting out to fetch dinner and returning six months later empty handed requires a pretty convincing explanation, and we all know how intelligent an octopus is, so Mister Octopus Prime had better have a plausible story prepared if he hopes to enjoy an eight-arm embrace from Missus Great Pacific.

Ucluelet Aquarium
180 Main Street
Ucluelet, BC V0R 3A0

Phone: 250-726-2782
Website: www.UclueletAquarium.org