The sun was high and the winds were light on this lovely evening. We departed the Nanaimo harbour in our zodiac vessel, Keta, in search of some spectacular marine life! The conditions were ideal to be on the open boat, with lots of sun and minimal ocean splash. Not long into our trip, we decided to leave the protected waters of the southern Gulf Islands and head through the Gabriola passage to enter the Strait of Georgia. As we crossed into the Strait, we were greeted by flat seas and glowing emerald-green waters! The flat water and high sun made spotting marine life a breeze.

On our way over towards the Vancouver area, we would occasionally spot a fleeting glimpse of some Harbour Porpoises! These camera-shy cetaceans are very cute and tiny, only reaching 4.6-6.2 ft in length and weighing 130–170 lbs. Their dolphin-like appearance often gets them mixed up with dolphins - while they do resemble dolphins, they are actually more closely related to narwhals and belugas!

As we entered the waters west of Richmond, Vancouver, we were excited to find the T123s! This pod is a family group of transient (Bigg’s) orcas that frequent the Salish Sea:

T123 Sidney ♀ (1985)
T123A Stanley ♂ (2000)
T123C Lucky ♀ (2012)
T123D Darcy ♀ (2018)

The hierarchy of an orca pod is organized as a matriline - meaning the ladies are the ones in charge. A mother will travel with her sons and daughters, and potentially their grandchildren as well. Typically, with Transient (Bigg’s) orcas, the males stay with their mom for life, while the females may leave the pod when they reach sexual maturity, usually around 10-13 years old.

The T123 matriline consists of the mother, Sidney, with her son, Stanley, and two daughters, Lucky and Darcy. This pod has a rich history along the west coast, including a live stranding in 2011.
In July 2011, Sidney (T123) and Stanley (T123A) unfortunately misjudged the tides while hunting on a sandbar off Genn Island near Prince Rupert. Initially, the pair was spotted by a floatplane overhead, and they were stranded on shore for around 11 hours! Locals helped keep the pair’s skin hydrated as they waited for the tides to come back in. Thankfully, both orcas made a safe return to the water once the tide returned. Unknown at the time was the fact that Sidney was pregnant during her live stranding! Her 2012 calf was born healthy and normal, despite being under the weight of normal gravity while she was in the womb. This stroke of luck that the calf was born healthy despite the stranding was one of the reasons this calf was given the name Lucky!

As our time wrapped up with the T123s, we ventured north-west in search of humpbacks! Just south of Bowen Island, we ran into a pair diving together; It was none other than Slits (BCY0946) and Eeyore (BCY1221)! Eeyore wasn’t cooperating, and we were unable to get a fluke shot of them, but they do have a very distinct dorsal that we were able to cross-match. Slits made headlines back in 2022 when she ended up severely entangled off of our coast. She was so entangled that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) had to step in to help disentangle her - this tense moment was caught on video by DFO’s drones. After being disentangled, Slits went on her way, and in 2024 she brought back her first known calf!

After spending some time with this pair, we continued onward, and luck would have it, we found even more humpbacks! This time we found two known youngsters - Maite (BCY1457) and Camelot (BCY1458). Maite is the 2022 calf of Nick (BCX0565), and Camelot is the 2021 calf of Fallen Knight (BCX0915). In recent years, we have encountered many younger whales that seem to enjoy socializing with other whales their age, just like these two! Humpback social structure is still very unknown to us, and is ever changing as the years go by. Hopefully, one day we will have more insight into the lives and comings and goings of these massive creatures!

We thought that would be the last of our whale action for the day, but we were surprised by another group of humpbacks after departing the young duo! This group was diving and zig-zagging around, unfortunately being a bit camera-shy, leading to a lack of fluke shots. We were able to confirm that two of the whales were Kraken/Monarch/Pyramid (BCZ0180) and Callisto (BCX2486), but the rest are currently Unknowns. We will continue digging, hoping to ID these elusive whales.

Soon we had to leave, as the sun was beginning to set, and we needed to cross the Strait back to Nanaimo. We began the gorgeous trip back, enjoying the sunshine and the gorgeous clouds above us. As the landscape was being bathed in a beautiful orange glow, we made it back to port after another incredible day exploring the wild west coast.

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalist Jordan Robinson!

June 14, 2025, 3:30 PM - Double Species day by Vancouver