Killer Whale - Orca Whale (Orcinus orca)
Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Grey Whales are from the eastern north Pacific and
every spring these Gray Whales migrate along the coast from Mexico
all the way up to Alaska passing by Vancouver Island. Records show
sometimes Grey Whales only migrate as far as Vancouver Island and
have been recorded as living off the west coast of Vancouver Island
for 8 months before they would join the other Grey Whales in the fall
and winter months, passing Vancouver Island on route back to do some
serious mating and calving action in the lagoons of Mexico.
Grey Whales is a baleen whale. Grey Whales average 40 -50 feet
long and weigh about 50 tons! Heck a newborn calve will measure
12 feet and weigh 1 and half tons. Grey Whales are tubular and bulky
and tapered at both ends having a elongated head with 2-5 deep ventral
grooves along the throat, small flippers with pointed tips and wide
flukes separated by a median notch and they love to breach (jump
out of the water).
The Killer Whale or Orca live
in tight inbred groups called pods. Killer Whale pods are also matriarchal
- meaning that calves after 12 years old having matured to full
size and are still traveling with their Mothers making for good
whale watching conditions and whale pod sizes. The smaller pods
are relatively known as transient whales which are more mobile exploring
the west coast from Alaska to Washington dropping in on Vancouver
Island and the Gulf Islands. The larger whale pods are known as
resident pods which grow fat following the salmon - in a cat and
mouse fashion - around and around Vancouver Island and the Gulf
Islands.
A Killer Whale is a toothed whale, Odontoceti, commonly referred
to as an Orca and also known as a Blackfish of BC. Killer Whales
grow to 25 feet long and weigh up to 6 tons. Orca Calves are 7 feet
at birth and 450 pounds and nurse for about two years. Although
they inhabit the waters all year long , summers is the best time
to see Killer Whales in their natural habitat.
The Humpback Whales are also known as a baleen
whale, Mysticeti, belonging to the family of rorqual whales. Humpback
Whales can measure up to 57 feet long and weigh 40 tons. Whale Watching
Tours often claim Humpback Whales are the most robust if you can
find one to observe. Humpbacks have a small dorsal hump, long wing-like
flippers (up to 16 feet) , distinctive head knobs, a rounded protuberance
near the tip of the lower jaw and 13 to 37 ventral grooves. Humpbacks
are usually covered in whale lice and barnacles and because no two
Humpback tails are alike the tails are used for identification purposes.
Whale Watching Tours have the opportunity to view the Humpbacks
in the summer months only. |
BC
Whales
BC Wildlife