On the evening of March 9th, orcas were spotted heading north in Haro Strait, close to the San Juan Island shoreline. My friends and I headed out on the water and soon found ourselves with the T2Cs as they slowly passed San Juan County Park. The family was in no hurry and occasionally milled about or logged at the surface as they waited for T2C2 to catch up. T2C2 has what is likely severe scoliosis of the spine and does not move very fast. He is almost always trailing behind his family but they do not leave him behind. They also appear to hunt for him.
The T2Cs arrived just outside of Snug Harbor by sunset and found a harbor seal as the light faded. They went after the seal, with almost all the family members lunging out of the water. T2C2 hung back for most of the hunt but moved in as it was drawing to a close. He even tail slapped a few times. We stayed with them until it was almost too dark to see. We left them milling and feeding in the same spot. Center for Whale Research coworker Dave Ellifrit was also on scene and his encounter summary/photos can be viewed here.
On March 11th, we had a short encounter the T2Cs again, this time in San Juan Channel. This encounter can viewed on the Center for Whale Research's encounters page. We then headed far north into Georgia Strait and acquired J pod. At first, the pod was very spread out over a large area but most of the members eventually came closer together. A social group even formed and those whales were full of breaches, tail slaps, cartwheels, tail slaps, etc. This encounter can also viewed on the Center's encounters page.
What will happen next?
Please do not use my photos without my permission. Just ask.
The T2Cs arrived just outside of Snug Harbor by sunset and found a harbor seal as the light faded. They went after the seal, with almost all the family members lunging out of the water. T2C2 hung back for most of the hunt but moved in as it was drawing to a close. He even tail slapped a few times. We stayed with them until it was almost too dark to see. We left them milling and feeding in the same spot. Center for Whale Research coworker Dave Ellifrit was also on scene and his encounter summary/photos can be viewed here.
On March 11th, we had a short encounter the T2Cs again, this time in San Juan Channel. This encounter can viewed on the Center for Whale Research's encounters page. We then headed far north into Georgia Strait and acquired J pod. At first, the pod was very spread out over a large area but most of the members eventually came closer together. A social group even formed and those whales were full of breaches, tail slaps, cartwheels, tail slaps, etc. This encounter can also viewed on the Center's encounters page.
What will happen next?
Please do not use my photos without my permission. Just ask.
