Gender Roles

Below: Orca Cartwheel taken aboard the Sea Lion by our guest Christophe Paulbert in July of 2008.

Today was yet another amazing day with all three pods!


We met up with members of J, K, and L pods just east of East Point on Saturna Island. They were spread out between Saturna Island and the middle of Boundary Pass. The interesting thing about the groups, was that they were initially divided into male groups and female groups. We got a spectacular look at a group of calf-bearing females and young females all traveling together inshore. This group had around thirteen members and included mother-calf pairs of J19 (Sachi) and J41 (Eclipse), J16 (Slick) and her two youngest calves J42 and J36 (Alki), L72 (Racer) and her son L105 (Fluke), K14 (Lea) with her two youngest K36 (Yoda) and K42. This group also included J31 (Tsuchi) and J28 (Polaris). The group was mostly comprised of females and I was happy to see J28 in the mix... could she be being groomed for motherhood by the other females? I sure hope so. She's fifteen years old and at the age of having her first calf. Perhaps her presence in this group sugests something about her reproductive condition... or maybe it's just me being hopeful.


We also saw some of the boys hanging out together: J30 (Riptide), K26 (Lobo), J1 (Ruffles) and L57 (Faith). Towards the end of our encounter (around 3:30 pm) they seemed to join up in more mixed groups. We left them in the middle of Boundary Pass toward the east end of South Pender Island.


Our guests really enjoyed getting looks at all three pods and seeing so many "mammas and babies" together. We have another trip going out tomorrow at 1:00 pm and it's filling fast! Call for reservations: 800-450-6858. Happy Adventures!

Megan Young, Naturalist

Living to Learn, Learning to Live

Below: Photo taken June 3, 2008 by our guest Adam U. There are three identifiable whales in this photo. The third fin from the left belongs to DoubleStuf (J34). In front of DoubleStuf is his younger sibling Cookie (J38) and behind the two of them is their mother, Oreo (J22). DoubleStuf has a very skinny young-sprouter fin, Cookie is only five and so much smaller than the others, and Oreo has two little black spots on her eye patch on the left side, which you can see if you click on the photo.

Today was an incredible day, not just because we saw Js and some Ls... which is always incredible, but also because we had guests who were very excited to learn. They wanted to hear about our animals and environmental issues on the whole... which makes our staff very happy.

We first encountered the whales just off South Beach and they travelled back and forth from False Bay to Salmon Bank for about an hour. The animals were split up into small groups, with some inshore and others about two miles offshore. We specifically encountered multiple small groups and were surprised to see that some of the matrilines were split up so that animals of similar ages were foraging together. We saw fifteen year old J28 (Polaris), who is my personal favorite, travelling with her ten year old little sister Tahlequah (J35) and thirteen year old Tsuchi (J31). These teenage and preteen girls seemed to enjoy our company and we paralleled them for a while before seeing the J14s (Samish, Riptide, Hy'shqa, and Suttles) who were the only full matriline we saw today. We also got brief looks at J22 (Oreo) with her five year old calf Cookie (J38), however her sprouter son DoubleStuf (J34) was not in sight. We also caught some surfaces from J26 (Mike) as he travelled with L57 (Faith) and L53 (Lulu). We left the animals at about 3:15 pm as they headed down island toward Iceberg Point, but given their afternoon behavior, that is subject to change.

We encountered a nice group of animals, but we had an even nicer group of people. Our guests were extremely interested in the orcas and their plight, as well as in discussing environmental issues as a whole. I personally believe that we owe it to this population of animals to not simply enjoy them, but to learn about them as well. Regardless of personal opinions of conservation and environmental issues, I think we can all agree that if we don't change our destructive habits these orcas won't be the only ones suffering. Orcas are the apex predators in this ecosystem and are key indicators to the health of the environment. If they are having problems now, what are we as the dominant predators on the planet in for? Mothers on the boat voiced that they were concerned for the future their children would have to deal with if we don't make changes. "We do not inherit the environment from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~ Native American Proverb.

Megan Young, Naturalist

A (nearly) cloudless day

Today aboard the Sea Lion my crew mates and our guests went east through the islands to Rosario strait, near the city of Anacortes. The cascade range was clear, and the sky was a brilliant light blue. It is always a bit colder on the ocean than on land, but I didn't notice until the ocean spray hit me as I leaned too far out! It was an exciting (and a little salty)!

We saw J-Pod family members today. Slick was with her calf! I haven't seen them myself for several weeks. The baby is very cute! I was happy to see them, and they reminded me of how much fun I had with my mom when I was little. They were also traveling with another female and a few other males, including Slick's brother Keet. They were all traveling at their own pace on this lazy day.

Now I'm back on land, and already ready to go out again!

-Sarah, Naturalist

Think Positive Thoughts

Today began with no confirmed orca reports and rumors that J Pod was hanging out closer to the Pacific Ocean. Our guests were told to remain optimistic because we have a variety of marine mammals in the islands and we never know what could pop up.

The positive thoughts must have paid off because we got a report of a group of Transients hanging out near Iceberg (Lopez Island) and heading northwest towards us. We scooted down the west side of San Juan Island, after getting a quick look at the Mouflon Sheep on Speiden, in pursuit of the Transients.

We arrived on scene just south of Cattle Point to see four Transient orcas: one mature male, two females, and a calf. The group was later identified as the T30s being the mother T30 and her three offspring: T30A (the bull), T30B (the other cow), and the calf T30C. They were swimming around pretty eratically; chaging direction, grouping up, and splitting apart in no predictable fashion. They were swimming at about 4mph and were surfacing in intervals of about 7 minutes.

We observed the Transients for about 1/3 of our trip and spent the rest of the time looking at Mouflon Sheep, Dall's Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Pigeon Gillemots, Glaucus-Winged Gulls, Cormorants, and Bald Eagles.

This trip goes to show that good things come to those who wait....

Megan, Naturalist

Info on Transients from Orca Lab:

The Transient population of the Pacific Northwest has been identified as a distinct race. Their range encompasses the same waters as those used by the Resident Communities of Washington State, British Columbia and Alaska. No one understands how these two races developed, but most likely they have been genetically separated for many years. Physically, the two races are very similar but there are some differences. The top of the dorsal fin of Transient orcas tends to be more pointed than that of Resident orcas. Less obvious, the saddle patch ( the grey pigmentation along the side & behind the dorsal fin ) is further forward on Transients.

The real difference between the two races is in their behaviors and habits concerning their food preferences. Resident whales prefer a diet of fish, and in the summer months almost exclusively salmon. This is why we can predictably watch the Resident populations in key locations along the coast during the salmon season (when the salmon are travelling to the rivers to spawn). Transients, however, prefer to eat marine mammals. The Transients cruise the coastal waters in search of their prey. Transients have been known to feast on Harbour seals, Sea lions, Dall's porpoises, Harbour porpoises, Pacific Whitesided dolphins, Gray, Minke and other whales.

Lazy Day

Today was the perfect opportunity to take orca photos because they were logging around on the surface, making it easier to get a nice shot of them. We encountered J-Pod on the west side of San Juan Island just north of Lime Kiln State Park. They were heading north, but at a pretty lazy pace. Orcas don't sleep... at least not like humans. Humans shut down when sleeping, which works fine for us because our breathing is involuntary, or unconscious. However, orcas must breathe consciously, or they naturally hold their breath and must tell their body to breathe at the surface. If they slept like us they would suffocate. So they rest by logging together at the surface and going under as a group and coming up to breathe as a group... never going fully unconscious. Today we observed resting behavior, which was quite convenient for all of our aspiring photographers. It appeared that the Js were all grouped up for rest and affection, as some of them rolled around lazily rubbing each other, which is one of the ways they bond. It seemed like little J42 and her playmate J41, Eclipse, weren't in the mood to chill out and they were seen spy hopping and half breaching as if to beg their mothers to pay attention to them and keep moving.

We had a nice encounter with the orcas and then moved on to Speiden Island to see the Harbor Seals, Mouflon Sheep, and even a great Bald Eagle kill. The eagle was hanging out in a tree next to a nest and seemed to be eating a fish of some sort. Our guests really enjoyed the trip and got some awesome photos to remember it with.

Megan, Naturalist

Superpod + 1

Welcome back Ks and Ls!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was our first superpod of the summer! A superpod is when all three pods join together for socialization and mating. The rain didn't stop us as we headed out to Stuart Island to see Js, Ks, and Ls all travelling together. We saw multiple spy hops and tail slaps as they all grouped together for the first time after a long winter. The animals appeared to be in good spirits and nice and fat. We even saw a new calf, which appears to belong to K-14, Lea. Newbies are easy to distinguish due to their mottled coloring, wrinkles, and orangeish patches. This little one can't be very old and so we'll call today its birthday... which happens to be our office manager, Pat's, birthday! Happy birthday Pat and new little K baby!

Today was not only a treat to see the superpod, we also had a researcher guest on board in Adam U of the Center for Whale Research. He was able to get the inside info on the calf as well as provide us with a fresh outlook on the orcas and the studies involving the orcas. He also shared some of his great photos with us as well as fun whale stories.

We do our best to stay 100 yards away at all times, but sometimes the whales choose to come in and say hi. They came in to say hello today right off Turn Point as they surfed through the waves. (Don't worry, our engines were shut down!) We got nice looks at J-42 as she surfed with her mommy right past us with a male from L Pod as well as another J female.

Today was a fabulous trip. We saw a superpod, a new calf, multiple Bald Eagles, and all the Speiden fauna. It's hard as a Naturalist to hold some sort of composure when witnessing such a rare and incredible trip. I'll keep you posted on this new K animal and let you know how its doing throughout the summer. If mom is K-14, then this wouldn't be her first calf and hopefully we can keep this youngster around.

Megan, Naturalist