´óÏó´«Ã½

Next morning we finally arrive just north of Vancouver Island at the exact co-ordinates where Scar the grey whale stayed for six days. She's now moved on. But why after all her hard work to get this far did she just stop? There's got to be something special about these waters. The answer's immediately clear. The sea is like pea soup; it's rammed with tiny shrimp like creatures – they're called mysids. It's so thick I can hardly see my dive buddy. These swarms of mysids are the reason she stayed. For the first time in months, Scar could find something to eat. Who'd think that a huge animal like a grey whale could live off such tiny, tiny creatures? And then imagine a grey whale come swooping by and wallop, they're all gone. It's only when you see them like this that you really get an understanding of how a whale can feed off these things. Condense this down into one mouthful; it's actually quite a bit of food. Every mouthful of these tiny creatures is important for the mothers because they still have a very long way to go.