We had a fun filled day out on the Sea Lion this afternoon! We left the dock and headed to the south side of San Juan Island by way of Haro Strait. We got to the whales on the South West side on San Juan Island. We traveled alongside J27, J31, and J39 (Blackberry, Tsuchi, and Mako). All three of these orcas are siblings. My youngest of the three, Mako, was being very playful and breaching continuously while we watched them. He made fora great whale watching trip. After watching the three siblings for a bit we happened upon the J16s. The J16's include Slick and her offspring Mike, Alki, and Echo. They were all doing cartwheels! That is a surface behavior where the whales fling their tail and lower body out of the water and smack it back down on the opposite side. Although it was sunny today it ended up being a bit windy on the water but once we got to the whales it made it all worth it! We had a great day out on the water with a wonderful group of people that enjoyed the excellent looks we got of the whales!
Naturalist Rachel
San Juan Safaris, M/V Sea Lion