Saturday, October 18, 2008

Humpback Whale and amazing Steller Sealion encounter! Oct 16th, 2008.



We had an amazing encounter with Steller Sealions right by our boat!






A group of Steller Sealions check out our vessel!

Here are a series of photos of the Humpback Whale Tail fluke as it went on a deep dive.









In the shot above and below if you look closely you can see 2 Stellers with rope around their throats. It is careless discarding of fishing nets or lines that can sadly lead to many deaths amongst Marine Mammals. 


We set out with a boat full of excited passengers this afternoon eager to discover the wonders of the Salish sea and they would not be disappointed! Not long after we left the inner harbor we encountered a Humpback Whale south of Constance Bank. The Humpback Whale was not doing very long deep dives and was seen logging on the surface frequently. We also got to see some impressive Tail Flukes when the whale did do a deep dive. As we got down wind of this majestic Baleen Whale a few times we also got a powerful stench;)

After some quality time with the Humpback Whale we headed to Race Rocks MPA to see the hundreds of Steller & California Sealions and also the Harbor Seals. As we drifted with the current through this incredible ecological reserve a group of Steller Sealions popped up at the back of our boat! It was wonderful to see these large Pinnipeds check us out and one Bull in particular was very curious.

We then headed for home and everyone agreed it had been a fun packed excursion.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We were on this trip, what an amazing afternoon. We had never seen a whale before, it was a wonderful sight. Loved the sea lions following us!! we are now back home in England with our memories and photos. Irene and John Nixon.

Jpodlover said...

Dear Irene & John,

Thank you for your kind comments and I am happy you enjoyed your tour with Five Star Whale Watching. It was a wonderful afternoon watching the Humpback Whale (our final sighting of a Humpback this season) and the Sealions were a lot of fun.

Thank you again for choosing Five Star, it was a pleasure having you on board.

Cheers,

Andrew Lees
Marine Naturalist and Assistant Manager.