Home   Contact us

Join us in our 14th year! Kayaking Vancouver Island
	Johnstone Strait Ultimate
	Johnstone Strait Expedition
	Desolation Sound
	The Nuchatlitz
	Outer Coast Base Camp
	Custom Tours
	Desolation Sound
	Broughton Islands & Orcas
	Great Bear Rainforest
	Patagonia Chile
	Quadra Island Day Tours
	Kayak Rentals
	Grizzly Bear Watching

	Helpful Information
	FAQ's Getting Here Booking Details Sign up for our Newsletter Visit Blog Suggested Reading Map of Tours

 

Employment Opportunities

 

 

 

 

Day 1 cont'd

 

Back under way and just rounding the next point, suddenly one of the guides shouted, "whales"!! And there they were. Orca. One of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen in my life. And we were only in the first few hours of our first day.

We had found the B7 matriline that belongs to the B1 pod and is part of the A clan. Killer Whale pods, or families, are formed around the females in the pod (a matrilineal family structure). No whale, male or female, ever leaves its mother. In the summer in Johnston Strait, the many pods are brought together for mating, feeding and social purposes, but still members of a family never stray far from each other. This makes the job of identifying the 210 northern resident killer whales a lot simpler, although it is still no easy task, and takes many years of careful observation. The B7 pod, as with all resident killer whale pods, is named after the oldest female in the pod. (or the oldest when the pod was named) B7 was born in 1947 and today still swims with her family which consists of her four sons and two daughters. Her son B10, born in 1979, is a very distinctive animal for his large black dorsal fin is almost completely flopped over. Scientists are still not sure what causes this for it is very rare in wild whales.

Lee drove past the whales giving them a wire birth, then slowed to a stop and cut the engines so the whales would not be disturbed by the engine noise. Gathered on the back deck, cameras poised, we waited in a growing silent anticipation.

Nothing…still nothing. How could they vanish so fast? Then with a simultaneous "Whoosh" of seven exhalations and a rush of water accompanied by our shrieks of joy, they appeared off our Starboad side, their black skin glistening in the sun. Although these whales have such a peaceful and harmless, almost gentle feel about them, seeing their immense bulk so very near made my heart pound more with excitement than fear. But they just wanted a peak of our world as we want a peak of thiers. Soon the whales carried on their way and we continued on to our awaiting destination: Boat Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit our Blog