Written by Alison
on Aug 30, 2024

Spyhopping Orcas

Spyhopping Orcas

August 3, 2024 – We headed out on a beautiful day. We were really lucky to have a report of Orcas near Matia Island. Captain JB was listening to other captains on the radio and decided to head straight there, and oh boy, that was the right decision! We heard that they had been on a kill that was most likely a Steller Sea Lion! We started our encounter with one of the whales doing a huge spy hop. Over the next few minutes there were another 4 or 5 spy hops, tail slaps and lots of backwards surfacing. This is always fun to watch as their dorsal fin comes up before their head so their blow heads off the front of their head. This is typically a sign that they are tearing their prey apart with the help of another whale. Near the end of our encounter, when 2 whales surfaced bellies up, you can see that the little one was dragging a big chunk of meat! We had 8 whales total which included T172, a 35 year old female, T117A, a 32 year old male, his 19 year old sister, T117B and her 1 year old calf. We also had 4 of the 6 members of the T36A’s; the 34 year old mother, her 12 year old daughter, 9 year old son and youngest who is now 3! Well it was eventually time to leave so we headed to the beautiful Cactus Islands where we found lots of Harbor Seals, Pigeon Guillemots and a Bald Eagle! From there we headed for home with lots of smiles after a great afternoon on the water.

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 Aug 30, 2024

Spyhopping Orcas

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