A Whale of a Party!

Captain Nancy, our guests, our other boat the Sea Lion, and I departed Friday Harbor on this beautiful August day. After a few days of iffy weather, people started to speak of autumn's arrival, but today summer snuck back into our lives, delighting everyone aboard the boat. We headed south, passed through Cattle Pass and around Cattle Point - just as we rounded the point, we were already seeing boats! It seemed everyone else had the same idea we did -boatloads (ha) of boats gathered to watch the orcas. When we first arrived we watched J Pod and some members of L Pod swimming relatively close to shore in several small groups. We had heard word that K Pod was coming from the west in our direction. Everyone kept their fingers crossed that the three pods would meet up.
Our hopes were met when we began seeing boats that were travelling with K Pod in the distance. Soon, a whale mixer was underway. J Pod and L Pod members gathered together, and soon all three pods were socializing in one main large group and a few other smaller groups. There were tailslaps galore, a few breaches, and non-stop chatter was heard through the hydrophone. There were at least 65 whales in this super pod (which is what it is called when the three pods meet up). It was truly an incredible show. During super pods, many times mating will be occuring. This is because an orca will not mate with a member from his or her own pod, they are too closely related. Orcas are a matrilineal society, meaning they stay with their mothers there whole lives, making each pod a group of closely related individuals. It was breathtaking to watch this superpod interacting. K Pod had been out in the open ocean for quite a while now, so J and L Pod welcomed them back in a stunning display of tailslaps, breaches, clicks and squeals. What a magnificent day out on the water!

Ashley, Naturalist