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It is always a gift when we encounter one of the Rorquals, which include Sei Whales, Fin Whales, Brydes Whales, Blue Whales and others. Most of the Rorquals we have encountered have been around Cano Island, although some we have seen many miles further out to see. We include photos here of Sei Whales, Brydes Whales and Fin Whales. It can be hard to tell them apart and close observation is necessary to correctly identify them. Below we describe one of our encounters with these great beauties:
The guests we took out on this day specifically wanted to see whales, so we headed towards Cano island where the humpbacks have been hanging out. Something big came up in front of us, but at first we weren't sure what it was. As it came closer, we determined from our identification book that it was a Sei Whale. It can be hard to distinguish Sei Whales from Bryde's Whales, and we had to look very closely to tell which one it was. She/he was incredibly friendly, literally following US around, blowing air bubbles so we always knew where she was, and even turning over and swimming on her back, belly up. In the distance, we saw a whale breaching, but at first we thought it was a humpback because we saw one breaching the day before. We stayed with the first whale and were quite pleasantly surprised when the second whale breached right in front of our boat several times. It was then that we realized it was another Sei whale because it was thinner and longer than a humpback and had a totally pink belly. (Our books say "Sei whales do occasionally breach, but not as frequently as other rorquals. There are relatively few documented records. A single breach appears to be the norm, though multiple breaches may be seen occasionally." It seems that we see the rare and unusual quite a bit here!) We believe it was a male and a female and they were flirting, breaching, flirting, breaching, both of them came right next to the boat and when we shut the motors off, they circled us!!! While all this was going on, those crazy dolphins were swimming all around the whales, cause you know the dolphins can't resist an opportunity for fun....first it was spotted dolphins, then came over 60 Rough Tooth Dolphins. We decided to let the Sei Whales continue their courtship and stayed with the Rough Tooth (we just can't resist them) and had incredible in the water encounters until we saw a HUGE group of spotted dolphins, thousands of them!!!!! We got in the water with them too! Then on the way home, bottlenose dolphins!!! Every day our commitment grows to protect this amazingly cetacean rich area. Where else can you see so much in one day???
Recently we had another surprise, when we encountered a mom and very small baby Bryde's whale, right off the coast. We usually see these whales at least 12 miles offshore, but these were less than a mile offshore. The baby was very small, the size of a bottlenose dolphin. What made this encounter even more spectacular, is that they traveled with a group of about 50 dolphins, the big group whom we encounter the most. Leading the pack was our most well known dolphin, NoFin. It was great to see our gang leaping, playing and surfing in the wake of these two beautiful whales.
The Sei Whales, Fin Whales and Brydes whales are in the Rorqual family of whales (as are the Humpbacks). All are large whales, the Blue Whale being the largest. The Rorquals generally migrate long distances between warm-water winter breeding grounds (here!) and cold-water summer feeding grounds. Normally blows once every 40 to 60 seconds, though may blow every 20 to 30 seconds for 1 to 4 minutes, and then dive for 5 to 20 minutes. To feed, Rorquals take in tons of water in a mouthful and, with their baleen, filter out the fish or krill. They have up to 100 grooves, or pleats, on their throats, which expand and contact like a concertina to hold the vast quantities of food-laden water. This efficient system enables some of the largest animals to feed on some of the smallest.
Rorquals were heavily exploited by the whaling industry, especially during the 1960s and early 1970s, and so the population has been severely depleated.
