Special Interest - Whale Watching On The Discovery Trail

The Discovery Trail is a great place to experience whale watching, whether from our shoreline or from kayaks or group boat tours! Here are some of the species of whales and other animals found in our waters:

Humpback Whale
Humpbacks arrive in Newfoundland in early spring on their yearly migration from the Caribbean. What to look for: Large whale with long, white-sided flippers which are about 1/3 their body length. They can grow to over 12 meters long and weigh more than 35 tons. They are baleen whales (no teeth).

Minke Whale
Minkes are the smallest of the baleen whales and are a common sight in the bays of Newfoundland in summer and early fall when they come to feed on caplin, mackerel and herring. What to look for: Minkes weigh only around seven tons and measure eight meters in length. They are black on top with small side fliipers that have a little white on them, a completely white belly and a tall, hooked dorsal fin.

Fin Whale
Fins are second only in size to the Blue Whale, measuring up to 20 meters and weighing up to 40 tons. They are also baleen whales. What to look for: Large whale with a streamlined, black back and a long, curved dorsal fin. They have small pointed side flippers and a white belly.

Pilot (Pothead) Whale
Best seen in summer and early fall, these toothed whales may be in groups of up to 100. What to look for: They are black with a long dorsal fin and have a round "pot-shaped" head. They are relatively small, measuring around five meters and weighing three tons.

White-beaked Dolphin
White-beaked dolphins can often be confused with the White-sided dolphin. They can grow up to 2.7 meters long weigh up to 440 pounds. What to look for: They have dark grey bodies with lighter grey and white patches that straddle the back, a short white beak, and white patches in front of and behind the dorsal fin.

White-sided Dolphin
Locally known as "squid-hounds" or "jumpers", they love to play and jump out of the water, making them fun to observe. What to look for: They have black or dark grey backs with white bellies and a grey band running their length. They also have two oval patches behind and under their dorsal fin that are a creamy or yellow color.

Harbour Porpoise
Harbour Porpoises are sometimes locally called "puffin pigs" because of the grunting sound they make when breathing. What to look for: They are very small, measuring only a few meters long and weighing less than 50 kilograms. Females are often larger than the males. They have dark grey skin with white speckles underneath and a rounded head with no beak. They have small black flippers and a triangular dorsal fin on the back.


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