When the capelin roll and the sun shimmies over the Atlantic, it’s just the sort of morning a whale like Thora might favour—playful breezes and salt air thick with promise. Imagine the blue reaching to the horizon, and a flash of white fluke heralding another wanderer in Witless Bay.

Thora's story began with July sun warming the South Coast of Newfoundland back in 1993. She wasn't shy and soon after, in July the following year, she turned up near Witless Bay—right in the heart of whale-watching country, among puffins and bobbing fishing boats.

July after July found Thora a familiar visitor to Witless Bay, returning in 2003, then leaping forward to 2008 for another grand entrance. She seemed to have a soft spot for this corner of the world, staying close by into 2009, 2010, and making appearances in 2014 and 2016. Sometimes, she'd linger—on one grand summer in 2016, Thora was spotted twice in just a couple of weeks, gliding through the cool waters as if greeting old friends with a flick of her massive tail.

Many years might pass before a tale like hers circles back to you—and in 2025, it's as if Thora decided to take a victory lap around Newfoundland. Spotted between Bay Bulls Harbour and Gull Island, then at Vales Cove, Cape Spear, and Bay Bulls, she rounded out the month with not just one, but two proud showings in Trinity and Trinity Bay. A whale on a tour, leaving awe and a few giddy camera clicks in her wake.