Global Courant 2023-05-21 05:14:00
Liam Brennan had a once-in-a-lifetime experience kayaking near the University of British Columbia last Wednesday.
The 23-year-old went to Locarno beach in the evening, a route he often paddles.
But this time his routine route was far from ordinary.
As he lifted his paddle to turn around and go back in, he noticed an unusual sound about a mile away.
“I heard the blow, which I thought was a whale, but I immediately said to myself, ‘It can’t be,'” Brennan said.
But his instinct was right.
“I looked over my shoulder and there was a huge dorsal fin on the horizon,” he said. “It was a mix of fear, but excitement like, ‘Oh my God, is this really happening?'”
Within minutes, a pod of killer whales came within a few feet of his kayak.
“A male kind of circled around me, there was a female on one side of me. At one point I was just surrounded, which was just spectacular.”
The incredible moment happened within minutes, but he managed to pull out his DSLR camera to capture the experience.
“He stuck his head right out of the water, must have been 15 or 20 meters away from the kayak, so unbelievable”
Fascinated by the marine life, he posted the photos online in hopes of identifying the pod.
Investigators determined that the three transient killer whales were a mother with her two sons.
“Scientists who spend a lot of time near these whales can identify the individuals based on their dorsal fin, the white patch above their eye and the gray area behind their dorsal fin,” said Dr. Beth Volpov of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia.
“This is an extremely rare experience. Seeing a passing killer whale from a kayak is like winning the lottery.”
There are about 350 transient killer whales swimming in and out of the Salish Sea. A male orca can grow to be between six and nine meters long, more than three times the size of an average kayak.
“My photos, especially of the male killer whale, right in front of the city skyline, can be quite a powerful symbol of environmental resilience,” Brennan said. “I think it’s a cool combination to have this symbol of wild nature right in front of the city and I hope it conveys the message that we are always connected to nature.”
The incredible moment was made even more special for Brennan, who now holds a UBC Environmental Science degree.
“Because it happened a little less than a week before I graduated was pretty amazing. I was pretty excited.”
His dream of paddling alongside killer whales is what he says he will remember as a graduation gift – a memory he will never forget.
