Surprise! After pulling a disappearing act for about three weeks, Southern Resident Orcas appeared on the west side of San Juan Island Thanksgiving day! Monika Wieland, a great local photographer & naturalist here on San Juan Island, captured great photos of J, K, and L pods traveling within a few feet of shore at the Lime Kiln Lighthouse. Check out her photos here.
The same Southern Resident Orcas disappeared again for day on Friday November 29th. Hmmm. Where could they be? After listening closely to the Lime Kiln Lighthouse hydrophone and comparing notes with other captains, we concluded that the whales head again headed west and out towards the Pacific Ocean.
Not so fast though....We received reports early on November 30th of Transient mammal-hunting Orcas near Stuart Island. The whales traveled into San Juan Channel on the east side of San Juan Island. Turns out that small pod of Transient Orcas ended up being 70+ Orcas in the Southern Resident Community. All whales (including J2 Granny) were accounted for except for the L12 matriline. Don't worry, though. The L12s are notorious for doing their own thing! The Center for Whale Research videoed their day on the water with over 70 killer whales. Check out the video here.
Brittany Office & Reservations Manager San Juan Safaris