365 Project, Day 108
Here is my day 108 submission to my 365Project:
This afternoon I was invited to go on a whale watching trip with my good friend. We've both been working in the whale watching industry out of Victoria for nearly two decades but because we always worked for separate companies we have barely spent much time on the water together. Fortunately, she had enough space on the zodiac she was driving for me to come along for the ride.
We had a fabulous afternoon watching two different groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae), a species making a comeback to the waters around southern Vancouver Island. It was such a treat to have, yet again, some more up close and personal observations of these amazing animals!
I got this photo of one of the half dozen animals in the area surfacing with a small recreational fishing boat cruising past in the background and I loved how it really shows how intertwined the humpback whales and the lives of people on the west coast are...this whale was feeding on fish and these fishermen were probably heading in from an afternoon of fishing.
Interesting fact of the day:
Prior to commercial whaling activities on the coast of BC humpback whales were abundant in BC but the intensity of the whaling activities through the early part of last century nearly drove this species to extinction. For nearly 3 decades, sightings of humpback whales were rare in BC water however ongoing studies conducted by researcher up and down the BC coast have revealed they are making a recovery.
In 1998, my first season working in the whale watching industry in Victoria, I saw one humpback whale briefly and everybody in the industry was incredibly excited. From that time onward sightings of this species has increased every year with re-sights of individuals and even females returning to the area with one or even two calves!
To read more about the recovery of humpback whales around southern Vancouver Island check out this Humpback Whales Making a Splash Off Vancouver Island article.
You can also read and download the Fisheries and Oceans Humpback Whale Recovery Strategy at this webpage.
This afternoon I was invited to go on a whale watching trip with my good friend. We've both been working in the whale watching industry out of Victoria for nearly two decades but because we always worked for separate companies we have barely spent much time on the water together. Fortunately, she had enough space on the zodiac she was driving for me to come along for the ride.
We had a fabulous afternoon watching two different groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae), a species making a comeback to the waters around southern Vancouver Island. It was such a treat to have, yet again, some more up close and personal observations of these amazing animals!
I got this photo of one of the half dozen animals in the area surfacing with a small recreational fishing boat cruising past in the background and I loved how it really shows how intertwined the humpback whales and the lives of people on the west coast are...this whale was feeding on fish and these fishermen were probably heading in from an afternoon of fishing.
Interesting fact of the day:
Prior to commercial whaling activities on the coast of BC humpback whales were abundant in BC but the intensity of the whaling activities through the early part of last century nearly drove this species to extinction. For nearly 3 decades, sightings of humpback whales were rare in BC water however ongoing studies conducted by researcher up and down the BC coast have revealed they are making a recovery.
In 1998, my first season working in the whale watching industry in Victoria, I saw one humpback whale briefly and everybody in the industry was incredibly excited. From that time onward sightings of this species has increased every year with re-sights of individuals and even females returning to the area with one or even two calves!
To read more about the recovery of humpback whales around southern Vancouver Island check out this Humpback Whales Making a Splash Off Vancouver Island article.
You can also read and download the Fisheries and Oceans Humpback Whale Recovery Strategy at this webpage.
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| Splashing around! |
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| Humpback whale feeding |
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| Typically the underside of a whale's tail fluke is used for identifying individuals but often the left and/or right dorsal fin shape and any scarring it has can also be used |
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| Tail dive |
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| I love shots with the water flowing off the whale's tail as it dives. Note all the gulls feeding alongside the whale. |
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| These fishermen got a bit of a surprise when the whale surfaced not far from where they were fishing |
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| It's markings like the ones you can see on the underside of this tail fluke that allow researchers to identify and catalogue individual whales |
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| This is one of another group of two whales we observed...notice how the dorsal fin is quite different looking from the other individual |
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| This curious Steller sea lion (Eumatopia jubatus) came quite close to check us out |
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| Sea lion nostrils :) |
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