the animals
Orcas and humpbacks: what to know before you go looking
The two whales most travellers hope for, what makes each one recognisable and why no tour can promise either.
Reserve your whale tour ↗Two animals, side by side
| Animal | What to know |
|---|---|
| Orca | Black above, white below, with white eye patches; the largest member of the dolphin family |
| Humpback whale | A baleen whale, 14 to 17 metres long, with long pectoral fins and a reputation for breaching |
| Sea lions and seals | Share the water and the rocks, and appear in guests' accounts of the trip |
| Porpoises | Named alongside the whales in the covered catamaran tour's description |
The largest dolphin
The orca, or killer whale, is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is mostly black on top and white underneath, with a white patch behind each eye. Orcas are apex predators, and some populations live in stable family groups called pods.
Residents and transients
The best-studied orca populations are those off the west coast of North America. Researchers there describe fish-eating residents, mammal-eating transients and a third group called offshores. Which kind you might meet on a given day is not something a tour can promise, so treat the names as background rather than a checklist.
Humpbacks
A humpback is a baleen whale of 14 to 17 metres that can weigh up to 40 tonnes. It has long pectoral fins and bumps called tubercles on its head, and it is known for breaching, which is why it is a favourite with whale watchers. It feeds mostly on krill and small fish, sometimes using bubbles to gather them.
Why no species is promised
Whales roam, and the water is large. Guests of the covered catamaran have described humpbacks on one date and orcas on another, and sometimes both together, but the guarantee on the tour is for whales in general. A trip that sees only sea lions and seals is the situation the guarantee exists to cover.
Watching well
Touching the animals is not allowed on the tour, and neither are drones. Those rules protect the whales and they also protect your trip, because an animal that is not disturbed is more likely to stay near the boat. Guests mention crews who keep a respectful distance.
Questions for the crew
The crew includes naturalists, and guests praise guides who know their whales. Ask what the behaviour you are looking at means, why a pod is travelling in a particular direction or what the animals are feeding on. A good sighting is much easier to read once someone has explained it.