The orcas of J-Pod return from their 2 days at sea!

A very calming day on the water today.....went over towards the northwest side of San Juan Island to meet up with the J-Pod of Orcas that have returned from their venture out to sea for the last 2 days.
The orcas were moving very slowly the whole afternoon....a few of the "leaders" of the pod were about a mile ahead while the rest of the pod was in a tight group all surfacing within seconds of each other to breathe. This is typical to see the orcas in a tight slow moving group when they are "sleeping". This is not the same as the way we sleep...but more of a resting state, they actually shut off half their brain while the other half tells them to surface and breathe! (Then at some point they will switch from one side of the brain to the other.) J-1 (Ruffles) was among this group! I love that big guy! Very cool to see them in this relaxed state. It seemed as though a few awoke because we saw a few calves breaching, as if to say "Mom, wake up, wake up!". We also noticed that L-57 (Faith) is still hanging out with the J-Pod...perhaps looking for a mate...spending some time alongside J-28 (Polaris)??
A truly beautiful day on the water observing Orcas with the snowcapped Olympic Mountains to the south and Mt. Baker and the Cascades to the east.

-Jaclyn, naturalist

Take Me to Your Leader

Today's trip took us back to Point Roberts to spend time with J-Pod. We had an interested group, calm seas, and sunshine to make the day even better. We spent about an hour with J-Pod watching them forage as they headed south towards Rosario. They were all spread out and we began our encounter with J-8, Speiden, and then moved on to view J-1, Ruffles, and J-2, Granny. Granny is the matriarch of J-Pod and estimated to be nearly 100 years old!!! Granny is the one in command and what she says goes. She's a fascinating animal and it makes you wonder what she thinks when she sees us. She's been around since 1911 (estimate) and has seen many changes in the Salish Seas. I wonder if she passes down all this knowledge to little ones like J-40, Suttles, who is her great-granddaughter and one of the orcas we confirmed a sighting of today. Each day we see different behaviors and it's just as exciting to see the guests react to their breaches, spy hops, and unique stories. Each animal is an individual and has their own personalities and it's fascinating to see how these personalities and roles are played out in their societies. Until tomorrow....

Megan, Naturalist