Lots of sightings this past week. First, we had a surprise killer whale report from yesterday December 18, 2013. A very lucky family traveling to San Juan Island visited the Lime Kiln Lighthouse on the west side of the island with hope of seeing large marine wildlife. Our last report of Southern Resident Orcas on the west side of San Juan Island happened in the middle of the night on December 14 when members of K pod were heard vocalizing on the hydrophone. Southern Resident promptly showed themselves in the Seattle area the next day! Again, the Southern Residents pulled a dissapearing act after their brief visit to Seattle on December 15, which means we were surprised killer whales appeared yesterday near San Juan Island.
After looking at the photos from the surprise Orcas, it's obvious that these whales sighted yesterday are Transient (mammal-hunting) Orcas. Transients Orcas travel in smaller family pods, usually with 4-12 members. However, we have encountered group of 20+ mammal-hunting Orcas. It seems like "superpods" of Transients happen most often in the later fall & winter.
And to top it off, today we received word that the Southern Resident Killer Whales are near Vashon Island again. If anyone in the Seattle area snaps photos, please send them our way! We've love to see them: fun@sanjuansafaris.com.
Brittany Office & Reservations Manager San Juan Safaris