A humpback whale that apparently survived a ship strike feeds in Bishop Bay, BC, Monday August 28, 2017. The whale is missing part of its back close to the dorsal fin. (Robin Rowland)
I went down “the Channel” (the collective name for the waters of Douglas Channel and the surrounding passages, channels and canals) with friends on Monday, August 28.
We were first heading down Ursula Channel toward Monkey Beach where I was going to shoot some portraits of my friends, Before we got to Monkey Beach we saw humpbacks breaching far, far down Ursula Channel.
After we finished shooting the portraits, we went into nearby Bishop Bay for supper. We never made it to the famed Bishop Bay hotsprings. There was a pod of perhaps seven humpbacks hugging the shore, feeding. So we had supper on board and spent a couple of hours watching and photographing the humbacks.
Four humpbacks feed along the shore of Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)
As well the whale missing a chunk from its back, at least two others showed scarring from probable past ship or boat encounters.
Two humpback’s one missing part of its back, feed in Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)A humpback with a scarred back and dorsal fin in Bishop Bay (Robin Rowland)
Another view of the scarred humpback. (Robin Rowland)
The scarred humpback dives showing its fluke (Robin Rowland)Another humpback showing its scars. (Robin Rowland)
A whale blows in Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)A humpback fluke with what looks like chewed edges. (Robin Rowland)
Another view of the humpback with the strange flukes (Robin Rowland)Another humpback fluke. Fluke are a different as fingerprints which is how scientists identify them. (Robin Rowland)A third fluke (Robin Rowland)And perhaps a fourth (Robin Rowland)And finally a jellyfish that floated past our boat. (Robin Rowland)
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