Out on the blustery edge of summer, with capelin rolling like silver confetti beneath the kelp, a wanderer called Ryan skimmed along the tapestry of headlands and bays. She’s a real sea-rover, that one, never shy about stretching her fins in all directions if the mood takes her.
Ryan’s tale begins in August of 2018, when she was seen not just once but three times in just over a week—a regular tour of Newfoundland’s northeast. First she splashed by Horsechops with the gannets wheeling overhead. Five days later, she surfaced beside Catalina, scattering puffins from their posts on the rocks. Before the kelp even had time to tangle, she turned up in Green Bay, making one wonder if she had a preferred snack in every harbour.
Come May of 2019, the sea seemed to tug her northward and she was found gliding through Eyjafjörður in the chilly arms of Iceland. Whether she chased the promise of spring herring or was pulled by memory and ancient instinct, only the deep knows. But she lingered over there for at least a week—no surprise, with the fjord shining like cold glass in the Arctic light.
Fast forward, and Ryan popped up in Mobile Bay during July of 2022. After two years without a whisper, she burst onto the scene in Witless Bay in July 2024, before sneaking round to Bay Bulls the very same day. No grass grows under those flippers, let me tell you. She’s the sort to keep watchers guessing, vanishing over the horizon just as the camera focuses.
Have you seen Ryan? If you spot her, your photos and stories help fill in the empty spaces between the waves. Every sighting patches the grand quilt of humpback journeys and helps us get cleverer about where these giants roam (and why). Your eyes make the research possible, so do share what you see!
The waters around Newfoundland and Labrador are a buffet for humpbacks, rich with capelin, herring, and krill—making the long trek to our shores well worth it.
Off Horsechops, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
August 9, 2018
Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
August 14, 2018
In Green Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
August 17, 2018
Off Horsechops, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
August 21, 2018
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 Ryan, 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.
Get a printable version of this story.
By submitting to Happywhale, your sighting can become part of Ryan'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.