A group of excited onlookers watched a pod of orcas swim in Vancouver's Whytecliff Park yesterday.
In a video shared on Instagram by Sarah Boland, a few majestic cetaceans surface for air in the bright sunshine. When they do, a delicate spray of mist comes out of their blowholes.
A person exclaims, "Oh my god this has always been my dream to see whales. I always look for whales. I never see them."
The whales also swim extremely close to a couple of kayakers, and people in the crowd discuss the possible danger.
In the Instagram post's caption, Boland states that, "I am always looking for whales anytime I’m near the ocean and tonight, this happened! In the 10 years I’ve been in Vancouver, I’ve seen one orca from shore. (Sorry for the screaming in the video).
"I was having such a shitty day today and it ended with watching the sunset with friends and witnessing these majestic creatures swim by. I’m in awe. Also, I would have been shitting my pants if I was in that yellow (blow up?) kayak! I know they don’t harm humans in the wild, but still."
In May, Port of Vancouver Harbour Crew spotted a humpback whale in Vancouver's harbour early in the morning.
Prior to that, a couple of videos showed whales swimming in the sunshine just outside of Deep Cove in North Vancouver. Resident Nelson Phillips recorded the videos from his parent's house, which is located up Indian River Drive in North Vancouver. He adds that the area is just off Raccoon Island, and that you can see Twin Islands in the background to the left in the video.
Thinking of going whale watching on the water?
Be Whale Wise advises that, "Boats must stay 400 metres from orcas or killer whales in Southern Resident Killer Whales’ critical habitat and in Canadian waters in the Pacific Ocean east of Vancouver Island and south of Campbell River." In addition, "Boats must stay 200 metres from all killer whales in other Canadian Pacific waters and from all whales, dolphins or porpoises if they are resting or with a calf."
Be Whale Wise adds that boaters should use, "the Whale Warning Flag to warn fellow boaters to the presence of whales and be aware of the flag when you’re cruising the area," and also to, "Go slow (<7knots) within 1,000 metres, or a half mile, of killer whales."
For more information on Be Whale Wise guidelines, go HERE.
