Captain Jim and myself departed on M/V Kittiwake today in hopes of finding transient orcas. Our guests were hoping that since it was Captain Jim's birthday, he would be our good luck charm! Jim ended up proving to be our good luck charm!
We made it up to canadian waters, specifically kellet reef, where we met up with a group of eight transient orcas. Most of the time we see our resident orcas and write about them, but on these special days we get to blog about this group. Transient orcas are a little different than our resident group, mainly their diet. Due to this difference they travel differently. While being on scene with these guys, they were traveling in a circle pattern, very close to one another, and always surfacing together. I always enjoy when orcas surface together, just because you can see how many are together and just how close together they swim! Transients are also a little bigger than our residents because residents eat salmon, while transients eat larger animals.
Jim informed our guests and myself that we were seeing the T-36As and T-37s. Just like our residents, transients can also be identified by their dorsal fins and saddle patches!
We ended our trip by circumnavigating around San Juan Island. Our guests enjoyed being to see the whole island and being a part of Captain Jim's birthday!
Aimee-Naturalist-M/V Kittiwake
San Juan Safaris