The Transient Orcas are out in full force. They've been in the area for at least the past 4 days. We headed out of Friday Harbor, up the east side of San Juan Island. As we were reaching Speiden Channel, Captain Jeff got the report. "There are black and whites south at Victoria."
Speiden Island has a fascinating history that includes the antics of two taxidermist brothers. Imported Muflon Sheep, English Fallow Deer, and Japanese Sika Deer graze its hillsides under the watchful eye of soaring eagles. Glacial erratics adorn its slopes, whispering the story of the Vashon ice age to those who will listen. An eagle's nest practically hovers above the water in a tree that sticks out of the rocky slope at a 45 degree angle. But despite this impressiveness, we sped on, realizing that the Orcas were within our reach.
A male with an especially towering dorsal fin accompanied a female. They swam closely, their bodies touching, resting, sleeping while they swam. In dolphins in captivity, its been proven that they are actually turning one hemisphere of their brain off, resting that hemisphere so to speak, and using their other hemisphere to continue to surface and breathe.
There is so much about the Orcas that we don't know. Since they spend 95% of their lives under water, much is still a mystery. For years we thought the Southern Resident Community of Orcas, consisting of 3 pods, did NOT breed within their own pods. But based on recent paternity tests using DNA samples, we have realized that they do in fact breed within their own pods. Since the Northern Resident Community does not appear to be exhibiting this same behavior, we assume they have bred in their own pods out of necessity, out of a lack of breeding aged males.
On the way back to Friday Harbor we had 3-4 foot waves. It was a rough ride. One passenger was all giggles and smiles, enjoying it as one would a roller coaster. Things finally calmed down when we came into San Juan Channel on the lee side of the island, protected from a southwest wind.
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©
Speiden Island has a fascinating history that includes the antics of two taxidermist brothers. Imported Muflon Sheep, English Fallow Deer, and Japanese Sika Deer graze its hillsides under the watchful eye of soaring eagles. Glacial erratics adorn its slopes, whispering the story of the Vashon ice age to those who will listen. An eagle's nest practically hovers above the water in a tree that sticks out of the rocky slope at a 45 degree angle. But despite this impressiveness, we sped on, realizing that the Orcas were within our reach.
A male with an especially towering dorsal fin accompanied a female. They swam closely, their bodies touching, resting, sleeping while they swam. In dolphins in captivity, its been proven that they are actually turning one hemisphere of their brain off, resting that hemisphere so to speak, and using their other hemisphere to continue to surface and breathe.
There is so much about the Orcas that we don't know. Since they spend 95% of their lives under water, much is still a mystery. For years we thought the Southern Resident Community of Orcas, consisting of 3 pods, did NOT breed within their own pods. But based on recent paternity tests using DNA samples, we have realized that they do in fact breed within their own pods. Since the Northern Resident Community does not appear to be exhibiting this same behavior, we assume they have bred in their own pods out of necessity, out of a lack of breeding aged males.
On the way back to Friday Harbor we had 3-4 foot waves. It was a rough ride. One passenger was all giggles and smiles, enjoying it as one would a roller coaster. Things finally calmed down when we came into San Juan Channel on the lee side of the island, protected from a southwest wind.
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©
posted by San Juan Safaris Whale Watching at
5:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home