Follow the Tofino Whale Sightings Blog to stay up to date on what wildlife we are seeing in Tofino.
Gray Whales undertake one of the longest migrations of any mammal species. They travel annually between their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic and their winter breeding and calving grounds in the lagoons of Baja, Mexico.
Read MoreA visit from the Bigg’s Killer Whales T109A’s and T109B’s near Tofino, British Columbia.
Read MoreMay was another great month on the water around Clayoquot Sound. Did you know that we share our sightings with researchers? Whenever possible we submit images of the whales to support ongoing efforts to catalogue the whales. Last month we photographed 29 different grey whales, and submitted those sightings along with location information to the Pacific Wildlife Foundation.
On Sunday we had a visit from the Bigg’s Killer Whales T069A’s, T069D’s and T123A. They travelled through the Tofino Harbour, up Browning Passage and into Tofino Inlet.
Read MoreYesterday was a great day for Killer Whale sightings for our guides in Tofino! In the morning Howie Tom picked up the T109B’s and T109C’s at Cleland Island. These two gangs spent the afternoon slowly making their way to Lennard Light eating many seals along the way. These two gangs are the offspring of T109 (aka Big Momma) and are frequent visitors to Clayoquot Sound.
Read MoreBig Momma! T109 (born in the mid 1970’s) is a frequent visitor to Clayoquot Sound. This matriarch is a mother to 4 daughters and 1 son plus Grandmother/Great Grandmother to 13 offspring. She was in Tofino yesterday with T109D, T109D1 and T109E. Yesterday was our first encounter with her since T109B and T109C split off with their offspring.
Read MoreThis morning John and I were going to head out to try and photograph Blue Sharks but our plans changed when we got word that there were 9 Bigg’s Killer Whales off Lennard Light. The T109A’s, now a gang of eight, were back! They had not been photographed in our waters since winter. This gang is locally known as The Runaways and they are frequent visitors to the Tofino area. The gang had a bull with them today. T097, who was born in 1980, has only been photographed in our area once in 2011. We were excited to photograph a new to us Killer Whale and use the new DFO Photo-Identification catalogue! The Killer Whales spent most of the day slowing moving up the coast killing several seals along the way.
Read MoreWe have had fantastic Whale sightings over the past week in Tofino.
Guests on our tours have been able to see Minke Whales a few miles off Lennard Light. Minke Whales are the second smallest baleen whale. The Minke Whale is does not give us as much surface time as other whales. It breathes three to five times at short intervals before 'deep-diving' for two to 20 minutes. Deep dives are preceded by a pronounced arching of the back.
Read MoreYesterday we got word that 6 Killer Whales were making their way into Templar Channel. We met up with the Killer Whales as they were making their way through the Channel into the Tofino Harbour. They swam through the harbour and up Browning Passage. We identified the whales as the T075B, T075B2, T075B3, T075C, T075C1 and T037A1. They were last seen last night in the Bedwell.
Read MoreA big shout out to Captain Chris McCue from Jamie’s Whaling Station for picking up the T023’s coming into the Tofino Harbour yesterday. It was a windy and choppy afternoon so the Killer Whales in calm waters were a real treat for everyone. John and I caught up with the Motley Crew gang (all of them: Janice and the C’s and D’s) in Browning Passage. We left them last night at the entrance to Gunner.
Read MoreYesterday we got word that there were two Bigg’s Killer Whales heading up the coast off Cleland Island. Jamie’s Whaling Station was on scene and said there was a male bull and a female traveling quickly up the coast. We headed out in the Eco. These whales were traveling at 10 knots so we caught up with them off of Hot Springs Cove. T120 (born 1986) was with his mother T117 (born T117). We were able to capture a few photo ID’s of both whales and then we let them go. They were on a mission!
Read MoreAnother day with the whole family! First we got word that T023 and the T023D’s were back in the Bedwell this morning, right where we left them last night. John and I headed out in Lil’ Salty at 9:45 to the back side of Meares Island. When we arrived on scene the gang of Transient Killer Whales had just made a kill and were on the move heading out towards Rant Point.
Read MoreA few days ago we had a visit from the Bigg’s Killer Whales T023C’s. Yesterday we had a report of Killer Whales at Indian Island. John and I jumped into the Eco and went up to have a look. We met up with the whales traveling at Windy Bay with Howie on the Goolka. T023 and T023D’s booked it out Browning Passage and through the Tofino Harbour, then headed out past Lennard Light and down the coast. We observed T023D with her two calves plus the matriarch Janice, aka T023.
Read MoreSouthern Resident Killer Whales sighted near Tofino on June 8th, 2018.
Read MoreOn Thursday, March 29th we got word that there was a group of Transient Killer Whales off Lennard Lighthouse near Tofino. Our afternoon Whale Watching Tour was able to get some good looks at about 8 killer whales. John and I decided to head out on the Eco to get some photos ID's to see who they were. When we arrived on scene we immediately recognized the T068's with about 6 other killer whales.
Read MoreWhale Watching near Tofino, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
Read MoreToll Free: 1-888-474-2288
Local: 250-725-2132
Copyright @The Whale Centre 2024
All Rights Reserved
