Today, Captain Mike, Erick and I headed north out of Friday Harbor with a full boat. We were going for some transient killer whales headed to Battleship island. Surely enough, there they were, the the T37As. With them, was a noticeable tiny (6-7 feet long) calf--one that I had been seeing for the past few days. Today, however, it was confirmed! This was T37As newest calf, the very recent, T37A4. They swam right between Battleship Island and McCraken Point, before they continued east in to Speiden Channel. They remained close to shore all the way across the north side of SJI. At one point, there were two dogs barking at them from shore as they swam past, and I was half expecting them to jump in to the water and get eaten. Before they could however, the Ts when in to kill mode. They were porpoising in every direction and we're almost positive they got a seal. After all, transients are strictly mammal eaters. And they're actually choosy--taking out the parts they don't like, such as skin and organs. They're able to accomplish that all using their tongues. After hanging out with these guys for a while, we spun around Speiden and the cactus islands to find some seals, and then caught up the the whales one more time before heading home.
Naturalist Alex
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris