Whale and Wildlife Watching in Victoria & Vancouver Island
Whale watching in Victoria & Vancouver Island is awesome! No other spectacle of nature compares to the awe-inspiring sight of a massive killer whale breaching out of the deep blue water only 100 metres from your boat. Victoria and Vancouver Island are well known as the place to view migrating and resident whales in their natural surroundings, as well as providing a number of other wildlife-watching opportunities throughout the seasons. For a holiday memory that will never be forgotten, experience the mystical beauty of the wild inhabitants of Victoria’s waters and its surrounding area.
Whale watching tours can be taken out of Victoria as well as from several other communities on the Island. Tour operators strictly follow the regulations for viewing marine life, as outlined by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and work very hard to monitor their activities. The best time to see migrating gray whales is during March and April; gray whales are sighted in Clayoquot and Barkley sound from February through October. The "resident" orca (killer) whales that live in the local waters are best viewed from May through November, when they are at their feeding grounds. During these months, orcas are reliably found in their feeding grounds and the weather is more conducive to sightings.
From tiny sea creatures and fish to otters, seals, sea lions and dolphins, the coasts of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are a gold mine for visitors hoping to see marine life. The phenomenon of salmon spawning is also something to be seen. Witness the cycle of life as schools of salmon return from the sea to lay their eggs in their ancestral spawning grounds before dying. The spawning of the salmon signals a feeding frenzy for black bears, bald eagles and any other wildlife that depend on salmon.
Land mammals like black bears, cougars, deer and elk can often be seen along Vancouver Island’s back roads and highways, especially in the pristine wilderness of the northern and Pacific Rim regions of Vancouver Island. While in the Mount Washington area, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered Vancouver Island marmot, however it is not recommended that you seek out this animal, due to its fragile population.
Please see the Tourism Victoria member businesses offering Whale and Wildlife Watching. For a complete listing of all Tourism Victoria businesses, please visit our Business Directory.
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