We set out this afternoon in blustery seas in search of J and L pod who were reported travelling south near Kellit Bluff. For Capt Trev and I, this was our first whale watching trip since Tuesday as we had been busy doing 12 hour night shifts for three straight days providing a liberty shuttle service for the Abe Lincoln and it was great to be back on the water seeing our resident Orcas.
When we first arrived on scene we soon identified members of Jpod passing by including J2 "Granny" the second oldest Orcas in the southern residents and J1 "Ruffles", the oldest male Orca. We sat and watched as Jpod moved past our boat and then noticed members of Lpod further off-shore also moving south.
As we sat and watched Lpod pass by we suddenly saw 3 young Orcas swimming side by side and obviously playing. We wondered where the mothers of these three young Orcas could be as it is unusual for an young Orca not to swim right by the side of their mother. Then as we watched the 3 young ones go by the three mothers suddenly broke through the surface swimming after their off-spring, it was a memorable sight! Whilst observing the resident Orcas we saw a lot of foraging, social interaction and some porpoising.
Despite some lumpy weather everyone had a great time and enjoyed watching these incredible marine mammals in their natural environment.
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