If you’ve been out on the water with us at SpringTide, you might’ve had the thrill of seeing a humpback whale rise from the deep blue. These whales are massive yet graceful and sometimes lean toward the dramatic when they breach. But what’s even more impressive than their size is the story of their return to the waters around Victoria.
Only a few decades ago, humpbacks were nearly completely gone from our coast due to years of heavy whaling in the early 1900s. Something changed in the late 80s/early 90s and the humpbacks slowly made their way back to the Salish Sea. Thanks to global conservation efforts and a moratorium on commercial whaling, the humpbacks have returned, and today, they’re once again a regular part of life on the water here.
What’s on the Menu for a Humpback?
Humpbacks are up to 50 feet long and weigh about 40 tons, quite enormous! You’d think they ate big animals right? Wrong! They actually eat the smallest creatures: herring, krill, crustaceans, and more. They simple eat a LOT of them.
Humpbacks are baleen whales, which means they don’t have teeth. They instead use long, comb-like plates in their mouths that act as a filter between the food and the water. They use multiple different feeding patterns to get all these small creatures into a good bite, one of these being bubble-net feeding. This is a cooperative effort where a group of whales dives deep beneath a school of fish, then swims upward in a spiral while blowing a curtain of bubbles. This traps the fish in a “net” of bubbles, allowing the whales to surge upward with mouths wide open for the perfect big gulp. It’s an incredible strategy, and when you see it happen, it’s like watching a ballet beneath the waves.
Seasonal Visitors with Long Journeys
The humpbacks that visit the Salish Sea aren’t year-round residents. They’re migratory whales, and they travel some of the longest distances of any animal on Earth. Every year, they make a round-trip journey between their feeding grounds here in the cool northern waters and their breeding grounds in the warm tropics, often near Hawaii, Mexico, or Central America.
That’s a trip of up to 8,000 kilometers one way. They make this journey every single year. It may be far, but it is worth it for these gentle giants. Summers here provide rich feeding opportunities, while winters in the tropics offer warm, calm waters that are ideal for giving birth and raising calves.
When Can You Spot Them?
Humpback whales visit the Salish Sea seasonally, making their way here in the spring and heading out in the fall. Our sightings occur between May and October, although the summer is when they are most active. They are more active later in their visit as they arrive here to feed and bulk up before they head back south. That means they’re busy, and often quite visible. You might catch a tail slap, a fluke dive, or even a full breach if you’re lucky. As fall approached, the humpbacks head back toward the south to begin their mating (fun fact: they fast for the entire mating season which is why they are so tired when they get back to our waters)
A Few Fun Facts About Humpbacks
Humpbacks are full of surprises. Only male humpbacks sing, and their songs are long, haunting, and incredibly complex, lasting up to 20 minutes and traveling for miles underwater. Each song changes slightly year to year, and all the males in a population sing roughly the same tune.
Humpbacks also have unique markings on their tail flukes, which allows us to identify them when we see them. We also use this to track individual whales to better understand their migration and behaviour.
And yes, they’re massive. But even at birth, humpback calves are no small fry. Newborns are usually about 10 to 15 feet long and can weigh up to a ton. They nurse for up to a year, building up fat reserves for the journey ahead.
There’s something unforgettable about seeing a humpback in the wild. Whether it’s the sudden rise of a tail from the sea, the whoosh of a blowhole, or the sheer power of a breach, these moments stay with you.
At SpringTide, we feel lucky to share these experiences with our guests every day. The return of the humpbacks is one of the ocean’s great comeback stories; and we can’t wait for you to be part of it.