Other Marine Life and
Wildlife Viewing Opportunities

Harbour Seal
Harbour seal s are fairly common and are often seen on rocks and in coves. They breed locally and generally have a mottled appearance. Alaskan and western Pacific harbour seals are significantly larger than those in the Atlantic and those in the more southern areas of the eastern Pacific. Generally, adult males measure 1.4 to 1.9 metres in length and weigh 55 to 170 kilograms, while the smaller adult females measure 1.2 to 1.7 metres in length and weigh 45 to 105 kilograms. Pups are usually born measuring 70 to 100 centimetres in length and weighing eight to 12 kilograms. Most male Harbour seals reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age, while females mature earlier, at two to five years. Harbour seals have sometimes been known to dive over 500 metres and remain underwater for periods of more than 25 minutes. Male harbour seals have a shorter lifespan than females, possibly due to the stress of competing and fighting during the breeding season; males can live up to about 20 years of age, females to around 25 to 30 years.

Stellar Sea Lion
Stellar sea lions can be seen in large numbers at Race Rocks, just off the coast of Victoria. Stellar (or northern) sea lions are sometimes confused with California sea lions, but are much larger and lighter in color. Males may grow to 3.25 meters (11 feet) in length and weigh 1120 kilograms (almost 2,500 pounds). Females are much smaller and may grow to 2.9 metres (9 feet) in length and 350 kg (770 pounds). Stellar sea lions are light tan to reddish brown in color. They have a blunt face and a boxy, bear-like head. Adult males lack the saggital crest that adult male California sea lions display. Stellars have a bulky build and a very thick neck which resembles a lion's mane, hence the name: sea lion. The world population of stellar sea lions is about 40,000, but there is great concern about this population, which has decreased by 80 per cent in the last 30 years. The entire population has been listed as threatened since 1990 and the western US stock was listed as endangered in 1997.

California Sea Lion
California sea lions breed in California estuaries and migrate north in summer. The population is healthy and continues to flourish. Typical colouring ranges from tan to chocolate-brown and may appear black when wet. The head has a pointed muzzle and the profile resembles that of a dog. The hair is short and the flippers are long and leathery, with nails. An adult male weighs about 800 pounds and has a saggital crest (or bump) on the top of its head. The female, which is considerably smaller, averages 250 pounds. The California sea lion occurs from Baja, California to Alaska. This playful, noisy, exuberant, quick learner is the "trained seal" of the circus. It is highly adaptable to any surrounding and lives in a variety of habitats. When resting on rocks or beaches, it points its nose skyward and may be seen laying atop other sea lions. When at sea, sea lions raft together, playing and leaping clear of the surface. Their long front flippers enable them to make powerful strokes while swimming and they may reach speeds of 25 miles per hour. They are very vocal and bark like dogs. The California sea lion preys on schooling fish, rockfish, squid, flatfish, hake, lamprey, dogfish and salmon.

Elephant Seal
Elephant seals can also often be seen at Race Rocks and are named for their long, elephant-like noses; the males have very pronounced "proboscis" (a trunk-like appendage). Renowned for their long migration distances and their incredible diving abilities, elephant seals breed, give birth and moult mostly on offshore islands. Outside the breeding and moulting seasons, they feed as far north as the Gulf of Alaska. There is a great difference in size between the sexes, with adult males weighing two to seven times more than adult females,. Adult males measure up to 4.5 metres long and weigh up to 2,300 kilograms, adult females measure up to 3.6 metres long and weigh up to 750 kilograms. Pups are born about 1.5 metres long and weigh about 30 kilograms. Females reach sexual maturity at three to five years of age, males at four to six years, although prime breeding conditions for males are not reached until nine to 12 years. Males can live up to 17 years, females up to 22 years.

Dahl’s Porpoise
This porpoise has a stocky, black body with large white sections on the flanks and belly. The head is small and beakless. Dahl’s porpoises reach six to eight feet long and weigh up to 400 pounds. They are commonly seen offshore and inshore from southern California to Alaska. Being deepwater animals, they come close to shore where there are canyons or deep channels. Sightings are common from Victoria in the Juan de Fuca Strait. This is the fastest swimmer of all the cetaceans, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. They kick up a rooster-tail of spray when they surface and are enthusiastic bow-riders on boat wakes. Dahl's porpoises feed on a wide variety of fish, squid and crustaceans. The killer whale is known to attack Dahl's Porpoise. Many also die each year in fishing gear intended to catch fish; human hunters who relish porpoise meat are another enemy. These porpoises are not threatened in their west coast range.

Harbour Porpoise
The harbour porpoise is found only in the northern hemisphere. It generally inhabits coastal waters with a depth of less than 150 metres and its common name is derived from its regular appearance in bays and harbours. Many populations of harbour porpoise are migratory and their elusive nature has limited our ability to determine where they spend much of their time. The harbour porpoise is one of the world's smallest cetaceans, growing to an average length of 1.55 metres and a mass of 55 kilograms. Female porpoises are usually larger than males. It is believed that porpoises can live as long as 20 years. Harbour porpoises become sexually mature between three and five years of age. After that time, female porpoises usually produce one calf every year. Porpoises feed on herring, squid, capelin and gadoid fishes such as pollack and hake. In Canada, harbour porpoises are listed as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

Pacific White-sided Dolphin
A dark grey or black back broken by a white or light grey stripe along the flank characterizes the colouring of the Pacific white-sided dolphin. The beak, front edge of the dorsal fin, flippers and flukes are dark and the belly is white. This creature inhabits the entire Pacific range. It is considered a deepwater species, but in recent years it has been seen closer to shore and in inland waters. This fast, powerful swimmer loves to bow-ride and surf. It also often leaps and somersaults. Pacific white-sided dolphins are nearly always found in groups of less than 50 animals. They eat squid and small fish. This animal is considered common and not endangered, but some are harvested for food by the Japanese and several thousand are caught in drift nets and by the tuna fishery each year.

Sea Otter
This weasel-like creature has a long, thick tail with dense, dark brown to blonde fur. The fur on the head is paler. The head and neck lighten with age, turning almost white. Average weight is 70 to 100 pounds. Naturally occurring from the Aleutian Islands to Alaska, the sea otter has been transplanted to the southern part of Canada's Pacific coast. The sea otter feeds on clams, sea urchins, abalone, crabs, mussels, starfish and fish. It swims belly-up, with its front paws in the air, using webbed hind feet for propulsion. It dives for one to two minutes but can stay down for up to five minutes. They raft together in sexually-segregated groups of up to several hundred animals. The sea otter’s dense fur has up to 100,000 hairs per square centimetre, which traps tiny air bubbles and so repels moisture and retains heat. The female has one pup every one to two years. The sea otter population was nearly decimated by the fur trade and it is now a protected and endangered species. Its sensitivity to environmental pollution keeps it at risk.

Black Bear
Typical coloration is black to cinnamon with a white blaze on the chest. The snout is tan or grizzled with a straight or slightly-convex profile. Average weight is 200 to 600 pounds. The black bear inhabits heavily-forested areas, dense bush and wooded mountains throughout most of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. Black bears tend to wander a great distance, some male adults having lifetime ranges of 500 to 620 square miles. In January to early February, one to five cubs are born, generally every second year. The young weigh only one-half pound at birth. This uniquely North American bear is generally nocturnal and solitary. It is classed as a carnivore, although most of its diet consists of vegetation such as twigs, buds, leaves, nuts, roots, various fruits, corn and berries. It is also a good fisher and feeds on spawning salmon. Before winter ,it puts on a great supply of fat, then dens-up for the winter in a sheltered place. Hunting black bears is a popular sport; the meat is eaten and often the hide is made into rugs.

Cougar
The fur of this large animal is short and reddish-brown to grey-brown with white on the underside. The tail is black-tipped. The head is fairly small with small, rounded ears and this cat has large feet. The average adult male weighs 125 pounds and the female 100 pounds. This is the largest wildcat native to Vancouver Island and British Columbia. This animal is found only in the western hemisphere of the Americas, generally in mountainous areas. Although there is no fixed mating season, one to six young are usually born midsummer in a den where they are raised only by the female and remain with her for one to two years. The female has a distinct scream that is described as terror-striking. The cougar is a strong, solitary, extremely territorial hunting species that requires an undisturbed wilderness with an abundance of game. It feeds on large animals as well as small ones, like mice; the cougar is capable of killing a 600-pound moose or elk.

Deer
Deer are tan or reddish-brown in the summer and greyish-brown in the winter. The belly, throat, nose band, eye ring and insides of the ears are white. There are black spots on the sides of the chin. The antlers have individual tines that grow upward from each of the main beams. Deer are browsers rather than grazers and feed on a variety of vegetation, including green plants, nuts, corn, trees and twigs. Although the deer is a good swimmer and runner (reaching speeds of 35 miles per hour), it falls prey to a number of animals, including the cougar, wolf, coyote and bear. Once, this species was almost extinct, but it is now more prolific than ever.

Elk
The elk is the second-largest member of the deer family, with slender legs, a thick neck and is brown or tan with darker underparts. The antlers, only grown by males, are large with many tines and the main beam up to 150 centimetres long. The elk occurs in high, open mountain pastures in summer and lower, wooded slopes or dense woods in the winter. This nocturnal creature is primarily a grazer, feeding on woody vegetation and lichen. Once the velvet of its antlers has been discarded, the bull begins assembling his harem of up to 60 cows. The gestation period is 255 to 275 days. The elk's main predator is the mountain lion and sometimes bears get the young.

Vancouver Island Marmot
The Vancouver Island marmot is found only on Vancouver Island and is one of the world’s rarest mammals. It is a housecat-sized rodent weighing three to 6.5 kilograms (6.6 to 14.3 pounds). It prefers sub-alpine open areas above 1000 metres (3300 feet) in south- to west-facing meadows. The flowering parts of alpine plants are its preferred food. The Vancouver Island marmot prefers open areas that provide good soil for burrowing, suitable rocks for lookout spots and plentiful vegetation to eat. It lives in colonies comprised of one or more family groups and monogamous pairings are the norm. The Vancouver Island marmot has never been abundant, even in historic times. By 1990, it had been reduced to one-third of its former range in the mountains of Vancouver Island, due in part to habitat disruption caused by logging. With a population numbering fewer that 100 animals, Vancouver Island marmots must be considered one of North America's most critically-endangered mammals. Only by increasing both their numbers and distribution can the future of this engaging rodent be secured.