Written by Alison
on Jul 17, 2025

Orcas and Humpbacks by San Juan Island

Orcas and Humpbacks by San Juan Island

July 10, 2025 – We headed north on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We made a quick stop at the Cactus Islands to check out some Harbor Seals and a Bald Eagle. We had a few seals hauled out and several swimming around in the kelp. We knew there was a lot to see today to we continued on and started our first whale encounter with 9 year old Humpback Whale named Pop Tart! She is one of Big Mama’s Calves and became a first time mother herself in 2024. She had a good rhythm going with 4 minute dives, 3 breaths and a nice fluke up dive each time! We left her heading towards North Pender Island in Canada. Next it was back to the San Juans with a quick slow down to checkout the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island and then Bigg’s Killer Whales, the T75’s & T75C’s, in Spieden Channel. We got to see some hunting behavior as the whales changed directions quickly and made some lunges. We think they got a harbor seal, yikes! Its was so impressive to see 34 year old Stone in action. He has a huge wavy dorsal fin that really shows in the right light. He was with his 54 year old mother-Kidney, 27 year old sister-Bam Bam, and her 4 year old offspring-Flint. Such an exciting day!

 

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @Alisonengleart – Website: www.alisonengle.com

Western Prince Wildlife Adventures – Instagram: @Westernprincewildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching

Written by Alison
on Jul 17, 2025

Orcas and Humpbacks by San Juan Island

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