Bigg's Orca Superpod and Lunge-feeding Humpback
Superpod! Our tours had a special day on the waters west of Victoria, BC on Sunday, watching a Bigg’s orca superpod (T49As, T35As, T65Bs, T46B1s, and T46C2). This video also shows a lunge-feeding humpback whale - unfortunately our Edmonds boat didn’t get a chance to see that, but we’ve included it in this video because it’s pretty groovy.
T137s and T65A5 Pod in Saratoga Passage
The T137 family of Bigg's orcas has been swimming around in Puget Sound since Wednesday, October 2, and they have a fun tag-along with them - T65A5 'Indy'! Indy is a unique 10 year old male killer whale that spends more time away from his family than he does with them. He often drifts around by himself or teams up with orcas from other pods. Watch to end in this video to see Indy slapping his tail flukes after the pod of 5 caught a harbor seal in Saratoga Passage on Oct 3! Photographer/ Naturalist Bart Rulon Bart Rulon Art & Photography
T99 Seal Hunt off of Whidbey Island
A "National Geographic" type of moment took place on our Friday afternoon tour when the T99 family of Bigg's orcas took down a seal in a dramatic fashion off the coast of Whidbey Island. Bigg's orcas are apex predators, and frequently their hunts happen underwater. Not this time! We often see orcas play with their prey instead of immediately ending things - note that the final half of this video shows that behavior (nothing too gnarly, but we were really feeling for that poor seal). Video captured by Captain Brian and Naturalist Tony.
Bigg's Orca Socializing - T46Bs, T75, T75A
On 2024 World Orca Day, our Port Townsend and Edmonds tours had the privilege of observing the boisterous T46B family of Bigg's orcas, who were traveling with T75 (born in 1971) and her *large* son T75A (born in 1991). The youngsters in T46B pod were full of energy - breaching, tail-slapping and just generally cavorting! Bookending that encounter was humpback "Orion," who was traveling alone. Our goregeous summer weather appears to have no end in sight. What a treat!
Breaching Orion, with T65As
A bonkers whale day. Our Edmonds and Port Townsend half-day tours witnessed humpback "Orion" conduct a breach-fest. 42 breaches (we only included 20 in this video). This was preceded by robust pectoral fin-slapping alongside an unidentified colleague. Both tours also spent time with local faves, the T65A family of Bigg's orcas, joined by T37A1. Our Port Angeles tours encountered multiple *large* groupings of humpback whales (post on that coming soon!). Quite a day. (Note, this video is slightly longer than normal; most of the T65A footage starts at 3:27)
T99s near Whidbey Island on May 17, 2024
On May 17 we sure had a memorable experience watching the T99 pod in a playful mood after they ate a meal near the mouth of Holmes Harbor, Whidbey Island. Passengers watched as the family rolled around with each other at the surface for about 20 minutes before they eventually decided to continue on. The girls in the family, mom (T99 Bella), T99B (Holly) were focusing their play towards the youngest daughter, T99E, who will be 3 years old this year. The little one was getting pushed around by her mom and older sister. The two brothers, T99C (Barakat) and T99D (Puck) were also off on their own, about 100 yards away, rolling around with each other having some bro time before the whole family converged and they swam out of the harbor. Here are a few video clips from that day. Photographer/ Naturalist Bart Rulon
2024 Gray Whales Earhart and Stardust
A terrific sunny day of gray whale watching on March 5. We were thrilled to view CRC-56 "Stardust" and CRC-22 "Earhart" together. This is our first sighting of Earhart this year. A reminder that our Seattle (Edmonds) gray whale tours are running pretty much daily.
New Calf in T36 Bigg's Orca Pod
There is a new calf in the T36 pod already this year and we’ve had some excellent chances to see it on some of our trips this month! The mom is T36B (Tattertip) and the new calf is T36B4, her fourth offspring. The calf was first documented around February 6 during a survey by the Ocean Wise Research team up in the Strait of Georgia, BC, Canada. The T36 pod has been spending some quality time lately in Puget Sound along with some other Bigg’s killer whale pods, and we’ve been excited to see this new arrival to the family on some of our trips. Here are some video clips from our tours on Feb 23 and 24 that show the new calf. The first two clips show the calf surfacing right next to mom, T36B, in the “typical” mom/calf formation. In the last clip the calf comes up for a breath right next to T137B (Tempest) while both pods were traveling together that day. The slow-motion video does not have any sound. Photographer/ Naturalist Bart Rulon
T60-T18/19 Orca Vocalizations
Sound on for orca vocalizations! Recently we caught up with members of the T60 and T18/19 families of Bigg's orcas near Middle Bank greeting each other. Our team dropped a hydrophone into the water to capture their vocalizations. Listen closely to the wide range of frequencies used, and bear in mind that orcas communicate in some frequencies we can't even hear! Photos by Zinnia Berg.
Our Port Townsend and Edmonds afternoon tours headed north of San Juan Island today to witness the T137 family of Bigg's Orcas celebrate what we believe was a successful hunt. The 4 member family split up initially before coming together breaching, tail slapping and pec slapping. There were multiple harbor porpoises and a possibly *very* unlucky harbor seal in the area.
