When we left Friday Harbor, today we didn't have an Orca report and were planning on heading south to look at Minke Whales for our 1:30 whale watch. However, we soon got word of some mammal hunting Orcas up north near Portland and Salt Spring Island in Canada! We were all very excited at the news, and even though it would be a long trip to get there, it was well worth it. Guest settled in on the bow and in the cabin and enjoyed the incredibly scenic ride up north into the Canadian Golf Islands.
When we got on scene with the Orcas we soon saw something fling through the air! We noticed that they were in a tight circular formation which is indicative of foraging behavior as Caitlin talks about in her "Bits n' Pieces" blog. It wasn't long before our suspicions were confirmed as we saw a Harbor Porpoise being flung through the air! They had made a kill. The "T20/21" group along with the other 4 Transients were passing the Porpoise around and playing with it; they were probably teaching the small calf in the group how to hunt. It was incredible. We got to see it all, and watched in awe as they swam with the Porpoise close to the boat! It wasn't long before little bits and pieces of the unfortunate Harbor Porpoise that had been killed were floating at the surface. It was incredible to watch the apex predator of the ocean (who have been known to take down Great Whites) successfully make a kill. Even though you can't help but feel bad for the little Porpoise, it sure was fascinating to watch.
Heather, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion
San Juan Safaris