The other day, our guests on M/V Kittiwake settled in for a long boat ride up north into Canada. There were reports of six Transient Orcas, but they were far North and moving away from us. Captain Jim and I decided to go for it though, there's no stopping us when there's Orcas involved! The best part about it was that the "long ride" didn't actually feel long at all since going north comes with some of the best scenery and aesthetically pleasing views I have ever seen. Great people, calm water, good conversation, and beautiful views almost makes you forget about the Orcas.
When we got on seen with the Transient Orcas there was only one other American boat that braved the trip into the Canadian waters. We could see Vancouver, BC off our starboard side- I've never been this far north and was just as pleased as our guests. We ended up getting some great looks in and could get a little closer to the whales in Canadian water. The transients looked powerful yet graceful as they surfaced for air multiple times next to Kittiwake. Transients are our mammal hunting Killer Whales and are the reason why their actually called Killer Whale. Killer of whales got shortened to Killer Whale, these mammals are actually the largest of the dolphin family and are not "whales" at all! Our guests also learned this on the boat as we discussed everything from evolutionary history to the transients behavior and differences from our Resident Orcas. It was simply a marvelous trip!
Heather, Naturalist, M/V Kittiwake
San Juan Safaris