By eight in the morning there were already reports of Transient orcas in the area, but once the "Odyssey", the San Juan Excursions whale watching boat I work on, was departing Friday Harbor, the orcas had disappeared. We decided to head South down San Juan Channel and out to Salmon Bank on the West side of San Juan Island to look for minke whales while we waited to see if other boats would find the group of Transients.
Just as we were exiting San Juan Channel through Cattle Pass, we received a report of a different group of Transients and they were only a few minutes away, near Iceberg Point on Lopez Island. Transients, unlike the salmon eating Resident orcas, eat marine mammals and this group had just made a kill and seemed to be celebrating, even before we got on scene. I identified the orcas as two of the three matrilines we encountered on 4/27/13 attacking a Steller sea lion, called the T049Bs and T065As, plus a juvenile from the T049A matriline: T049A2.
Just as we were exiting San Juan Channel through Cattle Pass, we received a report of a different group of Transients and they were only a few minutes away, near Iceberg Point on Lopez Island. Transients, unlike the salmon eating Resident orcas, eat marine mammals and this group had just made a kill and seemed to be celebrating, even before we got on scene. I identified the orcas as two of the three matrilines we encountered on 4/27/13 attacking a Steller sea lion, called the T049Bs and T065As, plus a juvenile from the T049A matriline: T049A2.
 |  It looks like this whale watching boat is closer than 200 yards but distance on water is deceiving. They were actually the appropriate distance away. |  |
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 |  T049B's calf T049B2, born in 2010, spy hops. |  |
There were eight animals altogether. The adult females, T049B and T065A, were slowing swimming South from Iceberg Point, while their offspring breached, half-breached, spy hopped, cartwheeled, pectoral fin slapped, pectoral fin waved, chin slapped, tail slapped, inverted tail slapped, tail waved, dorsal fin slapped, rolled, back dived, belly flopped, above water vocalized, porpoised, lunged, and aerial scanned behind them.
T049B's calf T049B1, born in 2006, cartwheels.
 T065A's calf T065A4, born in 2011, breaches. |  T065A's calf T065A4, born in 2011, breaches. |
 |  Half breach from one of the juveniles. |  |
 |  A full breach from one of the juveniles! |  |
T065A and T049B led their offspring South for a little over half an hour when T065A suddenly cartwheeled and slapped her pectoral fin hard on the surface of the water. Once T065A did this, everyone turned around and followed her as she headed towards Cattle Pass, the entrance of San Juan Channel. The offspring continuing to breach and do other playful activities all the way there.
Adult female T065A lifts her pectoral fin into the air to slap it hard on the water's surface. Note how tattered her fin is.
 Adult female T049B (left), born in 1992 and T065A2 (right), born in 2004. |  Adult female T065A, born in 1986. |
Juvenile T065A4, born in 2010, porpoises out of the water.
 Juvenile Transient orca T049B1 porpoises out of the water. |  Juvenile T049A2 born in 2007, porpoises toward Cattle Pass. |
T049B1 is a boy!!!
T049B1's tail fluke.
 T049B1 about to show his belly again... |  ... and T049B1 is still a boy! |
 |  Either T065A2, T049A2 or T065A3 breaches, revealing one of them is a girl!! |  |
T049B1 belly flop!
 |  T049B1 belly flop! He definitely seemed to be the most playful of the offspring! |  |
 T049B1 exposes his entire body while porpoising. |  T049B1 exposes his entire body while porpoising. |
A little over twenty minutes after turning around, the orcas entered the channel, escorting us back towards the dock in Friday Harbor. They then went into hunting mode, which meant no more playful antics were allowed. Transient orcas must be stealthy and silent in order to catch marine mammals like seals or porpoises that will hear them coming. Within a few minutes they had made another kill (probably a harbor seal) and began celebrating again, with spy hops and tail slaps but it was time for us to head back and let them enjoy their meal.
A Spy hop in fog before entering Cattle Pass.
I have never seen Transients acting this happy after a kill before, and this encounter definitely tops all my other Transient encounters. They were active for over an hour before they went into hunting mode in San Juan Channel, and just to emphasize how active they were, I have many more breach, belly flop etc. shots that I did not include in this blog and I also missed a bunch. This is pretty much a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the encounter. What an amazing day!!
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