Written by Alison
on Jun 22, 2024

Playful Orcas and Humpback Whales

Playful Orcas and Humpback Whales

June 13, 2024 – We had a gorgeous sunny day and an adventure to go on, so off we went. We headed north with a report of some Humpbacks in one area and an hours old report of Orcas in another. We split the difference between the 2 areas and just about the time we decide to head to the Humpbacks a report came in that the group of 5 Orcas had just been located. We were all super excited to have the chance to see Orcas and to go to Canada! As we arrived on scene another group of orcas had joined up with the first group for a total 11! The whales were slowly swimming along the Portland Island shoreline. In this one group we actually had 4 generations of the T36 matriline. T36 is approximately 54 years old! She was traveling with her 2 daughters, 34 year old T36A and 26 year old T36B; her 7 grandkids and one great grandkid! The youngest being T36B4 who is just 4 months old! The little one could not hold its breath as long as the older whales so it would pop up on its own and got a little playful toward the end of our encounter with a little half breach and some tail slaps. Eventually it was time to leave and we wanted to search for other wildlife on the way back. Soon enough our customers were pointing and the had found a humpback whale! It had just gone on its long dive so we waited, looking in all directions and eventually we spotted not one, but 2 humpbacks. We had time for a few surface rotations with a beautiful fluke up dive by “Graphite.” The other whale was identified as “Stitch!” Another beautiful day in the Salish Sea!

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 Jun 22, 2024

Playful Orcas and Humpback Whales

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