Canada was our destination today, so we left Friday Harbor heading north fast. The longer trip was well worth it though. We spotted at least fifteen members of J-pod just off the west side of North Pender (48°48.22’N 123°19.93’W) traveling north. The whales were very close, almost on top of each other—true family bonding! We identified members of both the J-22’s including “Oreo” (J-22)and her son “Cookie” (J-38), the J-17’s including “Princess Angeline” (J-17) and her daughter “Polaris” (J-28), along with some other J’s “Samish" (J-14) and her son” Riptide” (J-30).
These whales were especially playful today: breaching, cartwheeling, spy hopping, lob tailing, rolling over, and swimming sideways were just a few of the amazing behaviors we witnessed. The cookie family seemed to be showing a lot more dough than their chocolate chip side today. :)
~Tara and Kristen, Naturalists, San Juan Safaris