Tales of whales bring people out to St. John's waters

Whales that have arrived off the shores of St. John’s over the past few days are attracting a lot of attention from tourists and locals alike.

People have been lined up at Cape Spear and Signal Hill to catch a glimpse of them.

Whales have also been spotted near Random Island and around St. Mary's.

"It’s just phenomenal, the [pictures] I've been getting," said St. John’s resident Matt Carter. "You can't ask for much better."

'We were out last night, there was probably 50 or 60 just in the Cape Spear area alone, and then out to Quidi Vidi you're running into pods of them all over the place.' —tour boat captain Luke Janes

While it’s not all that rare to see whales this time of year, their numbers and proximity to the capital city have people taking note.

"We were out last night, there was probably 50 or 60 just in the Cape Spear area alone, and then out to Quidi Vidi you're running into pods of them all over the place," said tour boat captain Luke Janes.

So what's brought the whales out? Dinner, says Wayne Ledwell, who studies them.

"They're not just going to come in for us to look at them, they have other things to do," Ledwell said.

"They're here on a major feeding frenzy."

Whales can eat more than a ton of crill, caplin and other bait every day. How long they'll stay in the area depends how long there’s food.

But for now, people are enjoying the show.