"Soon we'll be making another run. The Love Boat..."
These orcas are all about peace, l0ve and fish these days. They have been more active than I have ever seen them before with the percussive behaviors, the amorous behaviors and the feeding behaviors. It is fantastic and exactly what we want to see from our small population of endangered marine mammals.
Today we spent time with L pod, and while they were not as active in the splashing and feeding departments, they made up for it in the amore' department. A large male and adult female, both of whom Casey and I could not identify darn it, were having a summer of love. The male was following the female wherever she went and they were both rolling around each other and cavorting. We even saw the male float on his back and display himself, which of course set off a round of giggles on the boat from our bemused visitors.
The most surprising sight of the day though was a sub-adult minke whale, possibly the same one that had been traveling with J pod last week, swimming right in with the probably mating orcas. It was in close enough at times that it appeared to be rubbing right up against the orcas. These of course were Southern Resident Killer Whales, so they posed no threat to the minke, but it was surprising that they seemed to be wholly unconcerned or bothered by the fact that the small baleen whale was in the middle of their business. There are, of course, rabid theories being bandied about as to why the minke is so interested in the orcas. Is it lonely? Or maybe afraid for its safety? These are patently anthropomorphic ideas about an animal that we can not even begin to understand the logical workings of, but they are fun to fantasize about in an attempt to piece together the mystery.
Minke Whale
So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you summer lovers out there, thank you and we will...
See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist