Jannie and her partner Herman set up CetaceaLab seven years ago on Gill Island after seeking approval from the local Git Ga’at people. No one had ever studied the whales in this area until they came along, and now they go out daily in all weather to observe and record the comings and goings of the whales in the channels off the Great Bear Rainforest. They have set up a series of hydrophones in certain key locations and record all the calls, and are able to identify all the whales that pass through. There are two key species that come here, Orcas and Humpbacks.
The Orcas have generally left the channels by September but there are plenty of Humpbacks here. They travel up the Pacific coast from Hawaii where they spend the winter and have their young, and this is one of their key summer feeding grounds.
The Orcas have generally left the channels by September but there are plenty of Humpbacks here. They travel up the Pacific coast from Hawaii where they spend the winter and have their young, and this is one of their key summer feeding grounds.
Yesterday Simon and I went out early with Jannie to join her on one of her daily whales surveys. It was freezing cold so we donned our Mustang floatation suits, and with thick gloves and woolly hats headed out in the channel. We went for 20 minutes or so and then stopped, shut down the engines and just listened for the blow of a Humpback and looked for the plume of its breath. The mist was clearing and the sun was beginning to creep above the mountains and it wasn’t long before we heard the loud exhalation of a Humpback. It is a haunting sound that when the air is still carries for miles. This Humpback was sleeping, just resting on the surface and breathing in a nice, slow, gentle rhythm, quite undisturbed by us. As we sat and watched we became aware of a second Humpback nearby, a little more active than the first, swimming a little faster, he was feeding and every now and again exhaled sharply and then gently dived, and as he did so flicked his tail into the air displaying the beautiful, iconic tail flukes.
We continued on through the spectacular channels but stopping every 15 or 20 minutes, cutting the engines to watch and listen… and of course keep and eye on Neekas, Jannie's dog who has a startling ability to see whales before anyone else! Over the course of our day we saw a total of 13 Humpbacks and got close enough to photograph and identify each one. Of the 13 there were two that Jannie said were new to the area and which neither she nor Herman had recorded as having seen here before.
Back then to the lodge to pack our bags, say our goodbyes and board the float plane to Bella Bella. From here we boarded another light aircraft and flew for 30 minutes or so eastwards to the Bella Coola Valley and then headed up to Tweedsmuir Lodge. Today, we are going to see if we can see some Grizzlies!
Click here for an article by Chris' travel companion Simon Barnes in The Times
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