Sunset Splash

August 1st, 2020 Species: Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Location: Juan de Fuca Strait, British Columbia While guiding an evening tour in the South Salish Sea, we came across a large congregation of ~25 Humpbacks, presumably feeding on krill migrating to the surface from the depths. We first noticed the congregation from a few miles away after seeing large 'cartwheels' from a particularly excited individual. As we slowly made our way on scene, numerous whales began to display myriad surface active behaviours. Eventually 5 different whales were breaching, tail-slapping, and pec-slapping as the sun began to set, seemingly communicating in a sort of social manner, not uncommon in cetaceans. After sitting with our engines shut-off for over an hour, this individual decided to give us one last exuberant goodbye breach before the sun fell against the mountains of Washington State.