(Complimentary eCard, click to download
(Mating behavior crop)
(Ruffles / J1)
(Mother and baby harbour seal)
All day today was a southern resident superpod! On the 3:30 trip, all the 3 pods (J,K,L pods) totaling 86 animals had reached San Juan Island and were northbound at Pile Point from Salmon Bank. As we stayed pretty much in one spot, the animals traveled fairly close to the shoreline. Various groups of animals passed, along the way exhibiting a variety of behaviors such as; finning (speed hunting below the surface) 2 distant breaches, some aerial scanning (animals laying on their side looking above the surface), tail flukes, and upside down orcas, and even some mating behavior. If you look closely at the photos, you will see some interesting orca positions. Including one male who I think is Mike / J26 exposed out of the water. He was engaging with other individuals who are also in interesting positions. There seemed to be some playful behavior also between Ruffles / J1 and another orca. Some rubbing and investigative behaviors were sighted through the lens. All the animals seemed to be fairly social with one another on their travels. There was a large group passing through spread apart in smaller groups and were probably about 200 meters off of our stern the whole time. What a treat to see so many whales together today!
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