Grey whales, humpbacks, black bears and the rest of Clayoquot Sound's wildlife — what you can see off Tofino, month by month, and who to head out with.
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Tofino sits on the edge of Clayoquot Sound, where grey whales pass in their thousands each spring, humpbacks feed through the summer, and black bears walk the shoreline at low tide. Here's what you're likely to see off Tofino, month by month — patterns from past years on Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht waters, never a promise for any one day.
Keep your distance — it's the law
Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations require staying at least 100 metres from whales, dolphins and porpoises — 200 metres if they're resting or with a calf, and 200 metres from killer whales. Fines run into the tens of thousands. Choose an operator who cuts the engine and hangs back. Inside the national park, watching any wildlife closer than 100 metres is separately prohibited by a standing order.
Never come between a bear and its way out
Black bears forage the shoreline at low tide and can move fast. Watch them only from the boat or a safe distance on land, never approach or feed them, and keep dogs leashed — this is Bear Smart country, and a bear that learns to link people with food usually ends up dead.
(3 months ago)
March is whale-festival season
The Pacific Rim Whale Festival marks the return of the grey whales each March with events across Tofino and Ucluelet — the traditional start of the watching season.
What you’re likely to see in October
Good
Humpback whale — The summer feeder, back in growing numbers
Good
Sea otter — Resident, on the outer rocks and kelp
Good
Sea lions — Hauled out and noisy, mostly fall to spring
Good
Bald eagle — Year-round, easiest wildlife to see from land
A chance
Grey whale — The spring headliner — thousands pass, a few stay
A chance
Killer whale (orca) — The lucky bonus — transients, hunting
A chance
Black bear — Shoreline foragers at low tide, April to October
Month by month
Peak
Good
A chance
Unlikely
Grey whale
Best: Mar–Apr
The spring headliner — thousands pass, a few stay
J
F
M
A
Go out with a boat
Ahous Adventures
Owned and run by the Ahousaht Nation, on whose territory much of this wildlife lives — whale, bear and hot-springs trips from the harbour.
Most whales pass too far out to count on from the beach, but a calm spring morning sometimes brings a grey whale feeding just beyond the surf — and eagles, seals and sea lions are easy from land any time of year.
Cox Bay and Chesterman Beach — Scan the water beyond the break on a calm March-to-May morning; migrating and resident grey whales sometimes feed close in. Binoculars help.
Tofino harbour and the First Street dock — Bald eagles overhead, harbour seals in the water, and sea lions hauled out on the pilings and outer rocks through the cooler months.
A pattern, not a promise
These are seasonal patterns from past years, not a forecast — wild animals keep their own schedule. A good month means a good chance, never a guarantee.
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Around 20,000 grey whales migrate north past Tofino from late February to May, on their way from Baja to the Arctic — the peak is late March and April. A small group of 'resident' greys then stays to feed in the sound through the summer, so sightings hold up into September.
Humpback whale
Best: Aug–Sep
The summer feeder, back in growing numbers
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Killer whale (orca)
Best: May–Aug
The lucky bonus — transients, hunting
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Black bear
Best: May–Jul
Shoreline foragers at low tide, April to October
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Sea otter
Around all year
Resident, on the outer rocks and kelp
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Sea lions
Best: Sep–May
Hauled out and noisy, mostly fall to spring
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
Bald eagle
Around all year
Year-round, easiest wildlife to see from land
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
The Whale Centre
Whale and bear tours, plus a free little maritime museum on Campbell Street with a full grey-whale skeleton.
Good chances right now · also Sea otter, Sea lions
S
O
N
D
Once nearly gone from this coast, humpbacks now return each year to feed offshore from spring through fall, with the most reliable sightings in late summer and early autumn. Watch for the tall bushy blow and the long dive that shows the tail.
S
O
N
D
The orcas off Tofino are mostly transient (Bigg's) killer whales that hunt seals, sea lions and porpoises. They turn up unpredictably rather than on a schedule, a little more often in the spring and summer. Seeing them is a stroke of luck, not something to plan a trip around.
S
O
N
D
Clayoquot Sound's black bears come out of the old-growth to turn over rocks for crabs and shellfish along the shore as the tide drops. Boat-based bear tours run April to October; the best low-tide shoreline foraging is late spring and early summer, before the bears move to the salmon streams in the fall. In winter they den and are not seen.
S
O
N
D
Hunted out of these waters a century ago and slowly recolonising, sea otters raft in the kelp and around the outer rocks year-round. Longer trips toward the open coast have the better chance; look for a furry back floating on its own, paws tucked up.
S
O
N
D
Steller and California sea lions haul out on the rocks and harbour pilings, loudest and most numerous through the cooler months; many head to breeding rookeries in mid-summer. You can often hear them before you see them.
S
O
N
D
Resident all year and hard to miss — perched in the shoreline firs or overhead. Numbers swell when the herring spawn in spring and again when the salmon run in the fall.