A few hours before sunset on the 26th, reports came in of many orcas headed for San Juan Island, so myself and some researchers headed out on their boat to see who was around. We identified the K12's first, then the three independents (Opus K16, Sonata K35, and Cappuccino K21), the K13's, and lastly the K14's, before heading back to the dock at sunset. We found out later that K pod was just leading the way, and that they were followed by L pod and finally J pod. By nightfall a superpod had formed on the West side of San Juan.
Cappuccino, born in 1986.
Sekiu K22, born in 1987. She is part of the K12 matriline.
Scoter K25, born in 1991. He is part of the K13 matriline.
The next morning, I woke up to Group B of J pod, the L4's and the L43's (minus Lulu L53, who I have not seen this entire summer) outside my window, so I headed to some cliffs near my house for a close encounter of the orca kind from shore. The orcas were spread out, intent on foraging and socializing, but were slowly headed North. Two young males called Finn L116 (born in 2010) and Moby J44 (born in 2009) were being very tactile with each other, and Finn even showed off his sea snake at one point. Nearby was Moby's mother, Princess Angeline J17, who was born in 1977. Next came Racer L72, her son Fluke L105, Polaris J28, her daughter Star J46, and Rhapsody J32, followed by Nigel L95, Oreo J22, and her two sons; Doublestuf J34 and Cookie J38.
Moby rolls onto his back while Finn surfaces after showing off his sea snake.
Finn tail slaps.
Star, born in 2009, surfaces quickly while trying to catch up to her mom.
That evening, myself and some researchers headed out on their boat again to see who all was around. We were in for a few big surprises! We found Racer and Fluke alone near Battleship Island at the North end of San Juan Island. They had a dead harbor porpoise calf with them and were slowly carrying/pushing the body around. They had probably played the calf to death, which Racer has been documented doing before, as well as other Southern Resident orcas.
When we first got on scene, I could see the two orcas logging at the surface together, and soon noticed that they were supporting the dead harbor porpoise calf between them. They swam around in slow tight circles carrying the body in this manner for a few minutes before they dropped the body and dove deep to retrieve it. Once they resurfaced, they gently pushed the body around for a few more moments. Then, Fluke took the calf and slowly swam along the surface with it balanced on his rostrum, while Racer headed off to forage. Fluke seemed to drop it a few more times as he carried it and had to do deep dives every time to recover it.
When we first got on scene, I could see the two orcas logging at the surface together, and soon noticed that they were supporting the dead harbor porpoise calf between them. They swam around in slow tight circles carrying the body in this manner for a few minutes before they dropped the body and dove deep to retrieve it. Once they resurfaced, they gently pushed the body around for a few more moments. Then, Fluke took the calf and slowly swam along the surface with it balanced on his rostrum, while Racer headed off to forage. Fluke seemed to drop it a few more times as he carried it and had to do deep dives every time to recover it.
Racer pushes the harbor porpoise in front of her.
Racer and Fluke support the calf between them.
Flukes supports the body on his rostrum.
We decided to leave Racer and Fluke and move on. Towards sunset, and with some help from a very kind family on their boat, we located more orcas at North Pender Island in Canada. To my surprise, they were the "exotics" or the L54's. They had finally made it all the way into area for the first time this season. The L54 matriline is made up of six individuals: Ino L54, her three offspring Indigo L110, Coho L108, and Keta L117, as well as two unrelated adult males named Wave Walker L88 and Nyssa L84, who are the last members of their own two matrilines and have found a mother figure in Ino.
We encountered Ino, Coho, Keta and Nyssa as they foraged along the shoreline. Wave Walker had been sighted earlier in the day traveling, socializing and catching up with members from all three pods. We almost got a gender shot from Keta when it breached twice, but both times the belly was aimed away from the camera.
We encountered Ino, Coho, Keta and Nyssa as they foraged along the shoreline. Wave Walker had been sighted earlier in the day traveling, socializing and catching up with members from all three pods. We almost got a gender shot from Keta when it breached twice, but both times the belly was aimed away from the camera.
Coho, born in 2006.
Nyssa, born in 1990.
Ino, born in 1977.
Keta breaches, but the gender is still unknown.
By the 29th, J,K , and L pod (minus the L12's) were all still in the area, foraging, resting, and socializing around San Juan Island. I spent the morning watching the K12's and L4's from shore near my house and in the afternoon headed out the Odyssey of San Juan Excursions. We met up with Group A of J pod (including Onyx L87) and the K14's as they headed North to the Fraser River at Stuart Island. Lea K14 spy hopped twice as the orcas traveled along the shoreline. The matriarch, Granny J2 was a few miles in front of everybody, leading the way.
Nugget L55, born in 1977. Sekiu K22's tail fluke pokes out of the water in the background.
Lobo K26 in front of the Turn Point light house on Stuart Island. He was born in 1993.
It's so great to have all of these orcas back in the area. Welcome home L54's!
Please don't use my photos without permission, just ask :)
Please don't use my photos without permission, just ask :)
