Well, the title says it all: J Pod returned home to the waters outside the San Juan Island through the night and surprised us all in the morning! Usually, J Pod would be back in these waters foraging for salmon at the beginning of May, but we’d only seen them once. So, you can imagine everyone’s sheer delight when we heard J Pod on the hydrophones early this morning- I couldn't wait to get on the water and give guests the experience of a lifetime. And, as we boarded guests onto our three boats leaving Friday and Roche Harbor, I was smiling; I loved telling unsuspecting guests that we had a pod of twenty five killer whales in the area.
When we got on scene with the whales, I quickly summed up the situation. J Pod was spread out south of Turn Point on Stewart Island, and the leaders were headed north along Canadian Saturna Island. We decided to view the leaders in Canadian waters. Guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion and Kittiwake got a special treat today! Not only did they see J Pod, but they got to experience lot's of playful behavior from two of the Southern Residents most famous members: J2 (Granny est. born in 1911) and L87 (Onyx born in 1992). Even though Granny is estimated to be about 103 years old, that didn't stop her from tail slapping and celebrating their return into the Salish Sea. Onyx was seen faithfully swimming next to Granny as he always is, the two are virtually inseparable! We watched J2 and L87 travel with the rest of the group, including the J16’s, the J19’s, and the J37’s. It was yet another awesome day on the water!
Heather, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion
San Juan Safaris