Today we left Friday Harbor with reports of residents orcas near East Point. As we traveled towards the reports of resident orcas we received a separate report of transient orcas near by. We first went to see the transient orcas which were specifically the T124A's consisting of T124A, an adult female born in 1984, and her four offspring. The orcas were first seen at the entrance of the strait of Georgia near boiling reef. The waterway got its name because it is an area with strong current exchange giving the appearance of boiling water. We watched the family of orcas traveling southwest at a relaxed pace. After watching the transients we were lucky enough to go see the resident orcas, specifically parts of J and K pod. The residents were spread out and participating in a lot of surface activity. We were lucky enough to see a big male K26 (Lobo) breach twice in a row. We don't get to see big males breach like that very often so that was a great treat! Not only are males larger in body size but they also have abnormally large pectoral and dorsal fins in comparison to the females. A fully grown adult male can have dorsal fin that reaches 6 feet in height. Our guests were fortunate to get to see the two ecotypes of orcas that we see in this area. We had a wonderful day out on the water!
Naturalist Rachel
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris