Jade L118, niece/nephew to Surprise, tail slapped and breached a few times, giving me a look at the belly markings. Jade appears to be a female, and this is the second photo I have gotten of a probable Jade showing belly markings, with the other shot showing female markings as well. But the Center for Whale Research will be the one to officially declare the gender of Jade once they get a picture of his/her belly markings.
All of K pod and everyone from L pod except for the L54, L12, and L22 matrilines returned to area on the night of 7/18/13. Early the next morning they both zoomed up the West side of San Juan Island and were already at Pender Island in Canada soon afterwords. K pod continued North past Saturna Island for the Fraser River while the L's turned around at Patos Island and began to head back South. Aboard the "Odyssey", the San Juan Excursions boat I work on, we headed up to Patos and soon found ourselves with Surprise L86 and her family. Jade L118, niece/nephew to Surprise, tail slapped and breached a few times, giving me a look at the belly markings. Jade appears to be a female, and this is the second photo I have gotten of a probable Jade showing belly markings, with the other shot showing female markings as well. But the Center for Whale Research will be the one to officially declare the gender of Jade once they get a picture of his/her belly markings. After Jade L118, Surprise L86, Kasatka L82, Finn L116, and Lapis L103 swam past, Surprise's son Pooka L106 and her nephew Takoda L109 began wrestling and goofing off nearby. In the distance I could see a few other L pod matrilines, including Racer L72's family, Marina L47's family, and Crewser L92, with his aunt Ballena L90. By sunset, L pod was back on the West side of San Juan Island, but was soon exiting the area through the Strait of Juan De Fuca for the open ocean. K pod spent the night up at the Fraser River, continuing to hunt for Chinook salmon.
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AuthorMelisa Pinnow grew up on San Juan Island in Washington State. She attended The Evergreen State College from 2013 to 2017, receiving a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and ornithology. She has been a certified marine naturalist at San Juan Excursions since 2010. It is her hope that sharing her orca encounters will inspire others to love and protect these magnificent creatures for generations to come. Archives
October 2018
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