Close Encounters with a Star

As a Naturalist, I've been told not to get too attached to the orcas. However, this is difficult when we spend so much time observing them and when I've spent the majority of my life fascinated by them. I must admit that I have a favorite and her name is J-28, or Polaris. She is easy to identify by her bright, closed saddle patch and a nick halfway up her dorsal fin. I've been hoping to see her on each trip, but this trip was the best viewing of her yet. J-28 initially surfaced just off the starboard beam of our boat. She stayed near us in a regular 2-minute interval surfacing pattern and then began spy hopping, as if she wanted to get a good look at us too. After spy hopping twice, she disappeared and made us wonder if we'd lost her. Just as we were about to move on to another group, Polaris began kelping (playing in kelp) just a beam of us! She put on a fabulous show, as did her family about a quarter mile off False Bay on the west side of San Juan Island. Our guests seemed to love her as much as I do, which gave us all something to chat about on our way up island towards Speiden to see the Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Mouflon Sheep, Fallow Deer, and one Sika Deer.

The trip was great, as usual, and held special meaning for me since I got to see Polaris. I saw little J-28 when she was almost a year old in 1994 and I was eight, making her the first wild calf I saw. Since then, I've kept up on Polaris and her family and every day with the whales is special for me and it's my goal to make it special for our guests as well. Today was a special trip and everyone had the time of their lives. Thanks Polaris!!!

Megan, Naturalist