Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion| August 28, 2021 | 2:00 pm
Our afternoon classic whale watching tour began heading south through San Juan Channel. We exited through Cattle Pass and followed the strikingly beautiful Olympic Mountain Range westward. Reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales around Victoria, B.C. meant it was a race against the clock to reach them. Luckily, these two whales decided to mill in the area rather than pushing further west towards the Pacific Ocean.
We finally caught sight of these rascally boys, T60D (Onca) and T60E (Lynx), who were surfacing from a long deep dive. Bigg’s Killer Whales are a marine-mammal eating ecotype that lives in and around the Salish Sea. They travel as small family groups, which includes mom, who is the matriarch, and all of her calves or kiddos! As her calves enter their rebellious teenage years, they often go on joy-rides away from mom and the rest of their siblings. We got to witness the rebellious stage of these two brothers who decided they wanted to go off on their own for a bit.
We watched as Onca and Lynx moved around a range of a few miles, taking longer dives under the water and appearing in unexpected places! This behavior kept us on our toes while passengers would shout with joy in response to each surfacing! We stayed long enough to get some great looks at these brothers before heading back towards Friday Harbor. It was a really wonderful day!
Picture Credits: Ezra Garfield