A decade of visual surveys (2005-2014) revealed that humpbacks Megaptera novaeangliae occupy a temperate fjord system in British Columbia, Canada, in a wave pattern that propagates from outer channels in the summer to deep inland channels in late fall.

Rorqual whales (f. Balaenopteridae) supposedly respond to increases in prey supply according to both aggregative and feeding thresholds. With the former, they gather in areas above a minimum prey density set by their basal metabolic needs.

The silence settled around us comfortably as we tried to absorb the sights and sounds engulfing every cell of our bodies. The sun began to set and the whales continued to come, fluking into the golden light and disappearing into the ocean’s depths as the sun sunk lazily below the horizon. As the light began to fade and the stars began to shine, the whales’ breath continued to punctuate the spell of the silent night. It was difficult to truly comprehend what was happening that night, as each of us tried to really feel this moment, one which no doubt would stay with us all for years to come.