Seeing Blue; Thinking Green

It's easy to take pride in your job when people come onto the boat as tourists and leave as activists. We had a wonderful group of guests today from all over the world and everyone was interested in learning as much as they could about the orcas and their plight.

We were pretty lucky today to have amazing encounters with J Pod, Dall's Porpoise, and a Steller Sea Lion. We began our trip seeing J Pod. They were all foraging between Smuggler's Cove and Lime Kiln. There were a few tightly packed family groups (the J2s were all foraging together inshore) and then other individuals who were a bit more spread out offshore. We had fabulous looks at the J11s (sans J11). J27 (Blackberry) and his younger siblings were all fishing together. It looked like Tsuchi and Mako (J31 and 39 respectively) took up the rear of the group while Blackberry steamed ahead. The animals were bucking the current as they headed down island. We got some great looks at the family groups as well as a few sightings of J1's flailing sea snake... for more information on this, ask your parents.

We decided to head down island to circumnavigate the island and search for porpoise as well as Steller Sea Lions. It seems however, as if the Dall's Porpoise found us. They came shooting into the bow of the boat as we were travelling along and gave us an incredible show as they swam in and out of the bow's pressure wave. They were doing the porpoise equivalent of surfing. They hung out with us for almost ten minutes, playing and rolling around each other while slicing through the water like knives through soft butter! These little buggers are sooooo fast! It was incredible to see their stocky little bodies moving at such speeds with their black and white tails pumping so effortlessly. Our guests were thrilled with the encounter and were chatting about the Dall's the rest of the trip.

As if that weren't enough, we had an awesome look at a Steller Sea Lion as he whoofed down a HUGE salmon just off Whale Rocks. He was thrashing about in a thrall of gulls, tearing the salmon apart before our wide eyes. He basically chugged the salmon down in a matter of minutes. (Pretty effective for not having hands to grab it with.) We also saw flocks of sea birds hanging out, including a group of my favs: Harlequin Ducks. Their pretty faces look like someone painted make-up on them, hence their name.

As said before, I can't get over the beauty of this area and the complexity of the wildlife here. Our guests had mounds of questions about the orcas, their status, aquatic parks, pollution, and fish farms. I don't think it's enough for people to come and enjoy this area without learning some of the problems this ecosystem is facing. Our orcas are suffering from contamination of lead, mercury, PCBs, DDTs, and even fire retardants. Their food is running low, they have a high infant mortality rate, and we are missing many key individuals. An entire generation of animals was removed from here for aquariums, leaving holes in their social hierarchy as well as less genetic diversity. Many, if not all, of the problems these guys are facing can be linked to humans. The orcas make a great poster child for concerns not simply because they're so charismatic, but also due to their position on the food chain. They are a top oceanic predator, and therefore suffer from greater contamination and lack of food. Humans, however, are basically the top of the global food chain. If these orcas are suffering now, what does this say for us in the future? Although the prognosis seems bleak, there is hope if we all pitch in to make a difference. Our guests today pledged to make a difference in their own lives and maybe this will save not only our Southern Resident Killer Whales, but also some less appreciated creatures in their own back yards. The world is becoming smaller by the minute and it's up to us to work together to save it.

I will get off my soapbox now and enjoy the memories of the day with such incredible creatures.

For more information on what you can do to help make a difference for our orcas please visit the Whale Museum's page at: http://www.whalemuseum.org/education/library/helporcas.html

Megan Young, Naturalist

Silver and Family

Below: a Dall's and Harbor Porpoise. Harbors have extremely high testosterone levels and have been known to interbreed with Dall's.

Yesterday was another sun shiny day on the water. Each day's weather conditions seem to be improving and we look forward to have 70 degree weather and sun for each trip. Although yesterday didn't yield orcas, nobody reported a sighting of J's or Transients, we did get some great looks at Dall's Porpoises as well as a few hybrids. The crew has noticed a particular hybrid in the past because it has exceptionally white sides, almost appearing like a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin from a distance. However, we've come to a conclusion this guy, named Silver, is a hybrid between a Dall's and Harbor Porpoise. Harbors, although shy, are not too shy when it comes to reproduction. Their high testosterone levels cause them to seek out females of their own species, as well at the Dall's Porpoise. Because these animals stay with their mothers, we never see hybrids with the Harbors. (Male Dall's don't breed with female Harbors.) Our staff enjoys seeing Silver because he/she was so easy to identify. However, due to yesterday's high concentration of Dall's in the Haro Strait, we quickly learned that Silver has a few twins and therefore may not be so easy to identify. Our guests enjoyed spending time with our playful porpoises and then got some amazing views of Eagles, Mouflon Sheep, Sica Deer, as well as the Fallow Deer. With perfect weather and the diversity of life we saw, we couldn't have asked for a better day.

We have another trip today and will keep our eyes peeled for J-Pod!!!

Don’t Blinkey… You’ll Miss the Minke

Dall's riding the bow waves. From the Orca Spotting Network.

What an awesome day for a wildlife trip! Yesterday gave us glassy seas and beautiful sunlight. We began our trip keeping our eyes on the water because the conditions gave us the perfect opportunity for a sighting of some sort. No sooner than we prepared our guests for a sighting, we got word that a Minke whale (pronounced Min-key) was feeding off Saturna Island in Canada.

We sped toward Canada in hopes of some great observations. (We want to observe, not interact with the wildlife.) Sure enough, our Minke friend was just where our Canadian friends said. Minkes are the smallest members of the baleen whales. They don’t have teeth like our orca, but plates that resemble stiff hairs for teeth. They feed on krill and small fish by opening their mouth and swimming through the water. They close their mouth and push the water out through the baleen plates, which leaves their food trapped inside. It’s so funny how such a large creature preys on some of the smallest. The Minke cruised back and forth through the water in a zig-zag pattern. Minkes are a bit more shy than our orca and don’t make as big of a scene when they’re around. We got good views of the Minke’s back and stubbly little dorsal fin. Minkes are bigger than orcas, but their dorsals are quite a bit smaller.

After hanging out with the Minke for a while, we headed to the Haro Strait for some porpoise encounters. Captain Hobbes thought the day was perfect for a playful porpoise and his predictions proved true. We got just off Turn Point on Stuart Island and Dall’s came in to ride the bow waves. Our guests and crew clapped and whistled for them, which only encouraged them to keep playing. (Not all wildlife, however, appreciate noise. Our Dall’s are a bit of an exception.)

Our trip concluded with a trip to Speiden to see the Mouflon Sheep and Fallow Deer as well as some Stellers hanging out at Green Point. The Stellers really impressed our guests with their massive bodies and loud roars. We even had some Bald Eagles looking down on the Stellers, which only added to a great day of wildlife viewing. These waters are teeming with life and every day is truly a safari!

First Trip of 2008

The first trip of the year at San Juan Safaris was the most successful trip of the year! We took a crew of 21 adventurers out yesterday with hopes of seeing some local wildlife. Little did we know what a treat we would be in for. There were early reports of transient orcas near Speiden Island as well as some confirmed sightings of J-Pod near Canada. J-Pod was said to be resting so captain Pete took us to Speiden Island to see the Mouflon Sheep and deer. We also had the treat of seeing over seven adult male Steller Sea Lions swimming just off Speiden's coast. While our guests were learning all about the Stellers, we were visited by some juvenile Bald Eagles practicing their hovering skills. Once the guests got their fill of information and pictures, Captain Pete and our new Captain Mike set out to find J-Pod. On our way to Canada we even saw some Dalls Porpoises playing in the waves.

Despite all the amazing wildlife we observed, J-Pod still stole the show. We were happy to see Granny and Ruffles leading the way slowly but surely towards Active Pass. The whales were not too active, but skimmed the surface steadily blowing and swimming together. Ruffles, Granny, and Mike were the easiest to identify. Unfortunately the newest member of J-Pod, born last fall, hasn't been spotted. This gave us the perfect opportunity to talk to our crew about the toxins in the water and their affects on our whales of Puget Sound. We were so pleased with the animals we were able to observe and learn more about. Our guests had a real treat seeing almost all the local seasonal wildlife there was to see. We look forward to another fun filled season this year and more sightings to come. Stay posted and don't forget to, "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!" Until next time...