They moved into the community three weeks ago and already a family of humpback whales have become some of Port Alice's favourite residents.
"There's amazing activity every day they've been in — they've been breaching, feeding," said longtime Port Alice resident Natalie Stewart.
Stewart says five humpbacks, one of which is a new calf, are seen daily in the waters in front of the village.
Stewart and others have been photographing the mammals and sharing them with whale researcher, Jackie Hildering.
"You get whales coming back to areas where they were once whaled away right up until 1966," said Hildering. She's now hoping the whales will return year after year.
Hildering says two of the five whales had never received nicknames and were known only by their scientific research numbers. She recommended residents of Port Alice name the two.
One is now being called Poseidon and Stewart's daughter, Bella, said the calf — that has a noticeable injury to the right side of it's tail — should be called 'Terry' after famed Canadian marathoner Terry Fox.
"The distinction between the two, Terry with his right leg and the amazing things that he did and the fact that this whale must have had to overcome some obstacles as well — both being on the right side, she just thought it was a good fit," Stewart said.
"It's a beautiful story," added Hildering. "It's a story of second chances, of having whales come back from the brink. It's coupled then to the hope of a whale called Terry and what Terry Fox represented for everybody."
