[8/1/17- M/V Sea Lion- Kelsey, Naturalist- 1:30PM]
Ya know what days are the best? Days with orca whales and their babies breaching and feeding amongst calm seas with sunlight and warm weather and perfection… yes, it almost seems too good to be true. But, today was one of those days!
Coming up into Canadian waters, M/V Sea Lion and guests came up on the T37A family group of transient killer whales! A group of strong, independent sisters and mothers and a grandmother, this group of 8 whales did not have a male accompanying them (although some of the babies are so small, we do not have them identified by a gender, yet!). The lady whales were circling and tail slapping and spyhopping, indicating this group had just finished completing a kill and feeding and were celebrating with social behaviors. Transient killer whales are generally in stealth mode so they do not scare their prey away, which are marine mammals that can hear quite well in the waters. The whales are usually docile and quiet, but during greeting ceremonies or after having completed a kill, they go hog wild!
We continued watching these glorious whales as they started to break from their circular ring of social activities to continue travelling. But just as we thought it was over- breaches! The orcas were throwing their 6-ton bodies out of the water and even spyhopping with two-thirds of their bodies extending vertical above the water! They soon calmed down, but what a show. With that finale, we decided to mosey on back to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
The Salish Sea always has something exciting to witness and experience. Today, it just so happened to be breaching, mammal-hunting orcas!