I was on the Prince Rupert Adventure Tours grizzly tour on Wednesday, May 29, when on the return journey, just as we were leaving the Khutzeymateen Inlet Conservancy we spotted some unusual whales.
At first the crew that they were orcas, since the dorsal fins are similar. But was we got closer (while staying within the distance limits) the white whales were unfamiliar and not on the card that identifies common cetaceans on the northwest coast of British Columbia. Once I got home, I submitted my photos of the whales, the “mystery” white whales and the humpbacks I photographed to the Happy Whale identification site. I now have the answer, the two were Risso’s Dolphins. Although I had never heard of them, Risso’s dolphins are quite common around the world. It appears, however, according to Wikipedia that the numbers in northern waters are expanding likely due to climate change.