We had an absolutely epic week of whale watching, sighting killer whales on all 13 tours!
This week we had visits from the T049A, T075B, T060, T099, and T065A pods of orcas. We had several incredible encounters this week. But I think my favorite may have been on Monday mornings tour, when we encountered the T060 and T065A family families starting near Smith Island. Immediately upon getting on scene, we noticed a lot of high speed porpoising. For a good hour, we watched as these two families of whales seemed to be having a great time socializing and chasing each other around. They would take breaks, but then quickly resume the porpoising. It was a very unique encounter.
We also got some good encounters with some active hunts this week. On Saturday mornings tour, we encountered the T099 family of orcas, and the far north end of Port Susan. When we first arrived, they were seemingly in stealth mode, a little bit spread out and going on long dives, indicating they might be looking for food. And indeed about 15 minutes into our encounter, one of them exploded out of the water and the others quickly joined in. They quickly dispatched a harbor seal, and we then got to witness some prey sharing, and a few celebratory spyhops.
We are beginning to see some signs of fall approaching! The days are getting shorter, we are starting to see the return of Steller sea lions to their fall haul out sites, and common murres are returning in incredible numbers. There is no better time of year to be on the water for an adventure than fall. We hope to see you soon for some whale watching!
