About Whales

There is a lot to learn about these whales..

Every year approximately 20,000 Grey Whales swim from their breeding lagoons in Baja, Mexico and journey 10,000 kilometers or 6,000 miles north to the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea to forage for food. 

Leaving Baja in January, these "wandering giants" pass by the West Coast of Vancouver Island in small groups starting at the begining of March. These small groups can range from 2-10 whales at a time. The entire parade takes close to two months, spanning most of March and April and coinciding with Ucluelet's Whale Festival.

Our tours run out of Ucluelet harbour and up the coast around Amphitrite Point Lighthouse and through the remote islands outside Ucluelet to watch the procession of the "wandering giants" swim slowly north. . . .

April through October somewhere between 15-20 of these large creatures settle in around the Barkley Sound area to begin feeding where they will opt out of the northern migration and stay in the local waters to forage and feed until the end of September.

These are known as our Resident Grey Whales as they will stay until the northern whales swim by in September and October (far offshore where we can't see them) on their way down to the breeding grounds in Baja. In November the pregnant mothers will give birth after a 13 month pregnancy.

Fortunately for us, these seem to be the same whales that return each year, making identification (even nick-naming) the whales easy.