Whale and Wildlife Watching

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. No other spectacle of nature can compare to the awe-inspiring sight of a massive killer whale breaching out of the deep blue water only 100 metres from the boat.

Whale watching tours can be taken out of Victoria and most larger centres on the Island. The “Look Before You Book” Program encourages visitors to ensure the tour operator they use is a member of the Whale Watch Operators Association and follows the regulations for viewing marine life outlined by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The best time to see migrating gray whales is during March and April. Orca (killer) whales and other marine wildlife are best observed May through October, with July and August producing the most viewings.

From tiny sea creatures and fish, to otters, seals, sea lions and dolphins, the coasts of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are a goldmine for visitors hoping to see marine life. The phenomenon of salmon spawning is also something to be seen. The cycle of life can be witnessed 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 the 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, visitors may be able to catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered Vancouver Island Marmot; however it is not recommended that this animal be sought out due to its fragile population.

Victoria’s Local Whales

The ocean around Victoria is home to a southern resident community of 3 orca pods totaling more than 80 whales. In the waters of Northern Vancouver Island, a northern resident community totals 217 whales which patrol the Johnstone Strait in 16 pods. 

The shape of the orca whale’s dorsal fin and the markings on the gray “saddle patch” area behind the fin of each whale is unique and remains consistently identifiable over time. It was in the early 1970's that scientific researchers named the world’s pods by letter and number and developed a system of photo-identifying individual whales in order to better understand their natural history and monitor the population.

The southern resident community is named J, K and L pods. Each whale within the pods is assigned a number, but the whales also have common names that have been given to them by the Centre for Whale Research and the Whale Museum, both on the San Juan Islands. In the J pod, “Ruffles,” is named for his ruffled dorsal fin and is the largest male. His dorsal fin is estimated at close to 6 feet high. “Lummi” is the oldest killer whale in all of the 3 pods. She is female and her estimated year of birth is 1910. The last adult male with a notched dorsal fin is “Mega” of the L pod. The notch is caused by a natural occurrence such as friendly combat. “Hugo, Flash and Saanich” are 3 males in the L pod who have just started to “sprout.” At the age of 14 or 15 years, the dorsal fin begins to grow or sprout, signaling that the whale is ready to become sexually active.

Types of Whales in Victoria’s Waters

Orca (Killer) Whales
The Orca or Killer whale is the most common whale found in the Victoria area. The Orca is the largest dolphin and is shiny black with white patches above and behind each eye, on the chin and throat extending along the belly. The Orca has a characteristic dorsal fin. The male dorsal fin can measure up to 6 feet and is larger than the dorsal fin of the female. The male averages 27 feet and weighs up to 11 tons; the female 23 feet, 8 tons. The Orca is an extremely fast swimmer, exceeding speeds of 30 mph. It often spyhops (raises its head to view aerial surroundings) and breaches (jumps out of the water), making it a wonder for whale watchers. Its blow is up to 10 feet high and often has a loud, explosive sound.

The Orca whale has a well-established family structure, travelling in groups called pods for all its life. Each pod contains up to 30 or 40 whales and is structured around the oldest female, with males remaining in their mothers' pods. These groups communicate vocally underwater and each pod uses a slightly different dialect. Males may not reach maturity until the age of 15-20 years and live to 45-60 years. Female Orcas live to 55-70 years. The female has a gestation period of 15 months and calves at intervals of 3 years.

Gray Whales
The Gray whale is mottled gray in colour with numerous white, yellow or orange patches of barnacles and parasites around the blowhole, on top of the head and on the fore part of the back. Males are 35-50 feet, 28-38 tons; females are 42-50 feet, 34-38 tons. Gray whales live 60-80 years. A single calf is born every other year. The Gray whale was nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1900's, but its numbers have recovered well since the hunting of Gray whales was banned in 1947. There are more than 23,000 Gray whales in the world and they have been removed off of the Endangered Species List. Migrating Gray whales are best seen from the Pacific Rim region of Vancouver Island.

Humpback Whales
Humpback whales can be seen to the north of Vancouver Island. The Humpback whale is black with white patches on the flippers, bottom surface of the tail flukes and body. Males average 47 feet; females, 49 feet. Weight ranges from 25-45 tons. The head is flattened and the flippers are the biggest of any species. These large whales can stay submerged for about thirty minutes, but are usually underwater for shorter periods. They are highly acrobatic animals who breach repeatedly and have a spectacular blow of 10-13 feet ending in a beautiful haze of spray. They feed on krill and schooling fish such as herring, mackerel and cod. The humpback is usually found in small groups but have been known to be as large as 200. They mate every 2+ years and after a year’s gestation period a 15 foot, 2 ton calf is born. Due to commercial whaling, only about 2000 of these whales are found in the Northern Pacific. Now an endangered and protected species, the numbers are slowly increasing. Fortunately, many humpbacks are accessible to whale watchers.

Minke Whales
Minke whales can sometimes be spotted around Vancouver Island. They have a dorsal fin similar to the female Orca, but it is smaller and positioned far back on the body. The Minke reach lengths of up to 32 feet and are baleen filter feeders.

For more information, please visit our Whale and Wildlife Watching section, featuring local wildlife and tour opportunities.