This orca encounter was completely unexpected! I had seen the T036A's and T049A's earlier in the day aboard the Odyssey of San Juan Excursions near the North end of the island and thought they had continued away from the island. However, as I was driving past Land Bank on the West side of the island, I could see two whale watching close into shore. Curious, I pulled over to check it out, and I'm so glad I did! At some point, the orcas had turned around and headed back down island because now here they were, just about twenty feet from the Land Bank shoreline. Members from both of families were goofing off and playing in the kelp beds.The two matrilines, with eight animals altogether, are made up of these individuals:
| The T036A's
| The T049A's
|
Sprouter male T049A1 with his mother T049A.
T049A1 tail slaps.
| 
|
T049A1 rolls over and drapes kelp over his pectoral fin.
One of the calves is supported on the head of another orca and carried around.
T049A3 tail slaps.
T036A.
T049A1 drapes kelp over his pectoral fin again.
A young one breaches next to T049A1.
I have only seen transient orcas from shore twice (not including this encounter) and both times they were far offshore, so this was a very special encounter. It was also the closest I had ever seen orcas to the shore at Land Bank. What an amazing encounter!
Please don't use my photos without permission. Just ask :)
Please don't use my photos without permission. Just ask :)
