The fog was lifting over Trinity Bay, curling around the headlands like a lazy cat when Lilly, a grand lady of the humpback clan, left a trail of misty spouts in her wake. Salt on the air and seabirds wheeling overhead — it’s just the sort of morning when a whale might decide to stir up a little wonder.
Lilly’s story has windswept edges, like the coastline itself. It all began in late July of 2017 among the green cliffs and bustling puffins of Witless Bay. For several days she lingered, sometimes slipping down to Bulls Bay before returning to familiar waters. Her broad back and tail broke the surface, a living marker for anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse.
Just as quick as she arrived, she vanished from sight for a few turns of the calendar. Come August 2020, Lilly surfaced anew around Renews Rocks, as if she’d never left, carrying with her a tale only the tides could tell. The next summers saw her weaving between Salvage Cove in Trinity Bay and Cape Bonavista, rolling through the cold blue straits like a thread in a patchwork quilt.
Come 2023 and 2024, Bonavista and Trinity were graced by her presence, ever the seasoned traveller, never in a hurry. By 2025, she was seen off Tickle Cove, where the capelin run thick and the waters churn with life. There’s a delicious mystery to her wanderings, and every sighting adds another ripple to her story.
Have you seen Lilly? If you’ve caught sight of her, snap a photo and share your story. Your sighting helps fill in the blanks, giving us all a bit more light on the secret highways these whales follow through Newfoundland and Labrador’s wild seas.
Humpback whales off Newfoundland and Labrador can often be seen “lunge feeding,” where they burst upward with mouths wide open to gulp massive schools of fish—a real spectacle for anyone lucky enough to witness it!
Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
July 24, 2017
Bulls Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
July 25, 2017
Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
July 26, 2017
Witless Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
July 29, 2017
This is Happywhale's real data for this whale. The story above was generated based on these details, and a few creative assumptions.
Now that you've met Lilly, introduce them to your friends! Share this page directly below or to post as a social media story. Use #HelloHumpbackNL in your post to stay connected to all the other whale stories from Newfoundland and Labrador's coasts.
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By submitting to Happywhale, your sighting can become part of Lilly's data. Not only will it make their story richer for the next time they're spotted, but you'll become part of a global citizen science effort to better understand our oceans and the humpback whales that call them home.
