Today was an amazing Triple Whale Day!
Our morning tours left Victoria harbour and headed southwest, towards Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. In the area they found both Humpback whales AND Bigg’s Orca. Passengers had the opportunity to get a few good looks at the Humpback whale’s flukes and the classic whale “blow” or breath. From there, the boat headed further East and caught up with the T137’s. This is a group of Bigg’s Orca, or marine mammal-eating Orca, that we often see in the area. Passengers were treated to sight of the pod hunting a porpoise! After a successful hunt, the family displayed some social, celebratory behaviour. Passengers got to see a beautiful Spy-hop by T137B!
From there, our boats headed towards Race Rocks to view the California and Steller Sea Lions basking in the sun, rounding out a wonderful tour!
In the afternoon, we welcomed back our beloved L12’s that made an appearance after weeks of being away. L-pod, which has 34 individuals in total, are salmon-eating Orca. The L12’s are made up of several family groups. The largest of these consists of three siblings, Mega (L-41), Matia (L-77), and Calypso (L-94), and Matia & Calypso’s offspring. They travel with another small family group of Spirit (L-22) and her son, Solstice (L-89), as well as two individuals who are the last remaining members of their family groups, Ocean Sun (L-25) and Mystery (L-85). Following their time spend with the L12’s, passengers of the afternoon tours also got to spend some time watching Humpback Whales.
Humpback whales, Bigg’s Orcas, and Salmon-eating Orca all in one day!
For more photos from this tour day, please visit our Facebook Page.