September Whales

Below: An orca spy hops off San Juan Island. Photo by guest Christophe Paulbert from the Sea

Lion.

The whale watching season is drawing to a close. We only have a few solid weeks left of tours and then we are only taking people out on the weekends. It seems as if the orcas know the end is near and the past two days have been excellent shows!!!

Today, we met up with J Pod and members of K and L in Boundary Pass, just south of East Point on Saturna Island. The animals were moving at a pretty steady clip west towards the Haro Strait. They were porpoising out of the water, moving similar to a swimmer doing the butterfly stroke, bringing most of their bodies out of the water so it appeared they were hydroplaning. (Micheal Phelps, although an amazing swimmer, has nothing on these guys.) They continued to move through the pass with breaks to forage and socialize. We caught some great breaches, cartwheels, and spy hops throughout the trip. They really seemed to be in a good mood. We even saw J36 (Alki) breach multiple times near her mother and little sister (J16 and J42). She would breach (that means jump) with every respiration! Instead of simply exposing her blowhole for air, she leapt out of the water nearly six times! All our aspiring photographers were able to get great shots of her showing off because her repetition allowed them to point their cameras in the right spot. This allowed us to talk about why they breach, which is still somewhat of a mystery. It could be because they're in a good mood, to dislodge parasites, to sluff off skin, a means of aggression, or a means of communication. If only we could get into their minds and give meaning to such behaviors... until then we're left to speculate. Although, I wouldn't mind thinking it's because they're happy.

I only have a week left before I move to LA for the winter and although every time I see them it's a treat, these last few encounters will be extra special to me. They definitely made this encounter one to remember.

Call today to make a reservation... time is running out!!!!!!

Megan Young, Naturalist