Written by Bethany
on Sep 17, 2023

Whale Report: August 26, 2023 – T60s and Scrimmage the Humpback

Whale Report: August 26, 2023 – T60s and Scrimmage the Humpback

August 26, 2023 – We headed out from Friday Harbor with a report of some killer whales to the west of the San Juan Islands. As we headed down San Juan Channel, we suddenly spotted some splashing! It turned out to be a Steller Sea Lion that was chomping down on an octopus! At one point, the sea lion pulled up the whole animal and it was huge, most likely a giant pacific octopus which is the largest species of octopus in the world! We continued, after watching the sea lion whip octopuses’ arms around, and spotted a sea otter near the rocks. At one point, another Steller sea lion charged the sea otter and drove it off a bit! What a way to start a trip! As we were heading towards the report of killer whales, suddenly, we spotted a large blow and a rolling back! It turned out to be a humpback! We were able to identify the whale as BCZ0488 “Scrimmage”. Finally, we reached an area in Canada known as the Chain Islands that the group of Bigg’s Killer Whales were hunting in. Just as we got on scene, we got to see a full breach from one of the teenage males in the family and then they continued to travel through the reefs. At one point, the younger whales were rolling around in the kelp and we got to see a double spyhop with one whale’s mouth completely open! It was incredible to see this group known as the T60s hunting, socializing and traveling together.

 

Photographer and Naturalist: Bethany Shimasaki – Instagram @Adventures.with.Bethany – Website: www.bethshim.com

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

Written by Bethany
on Sep 17, 2023

Whale Report: August 26, 2023 – T60s and Scrimmage the Humpback

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