Written by Bethany
on Aug 13, 2023

Whale Report: July 30, 2023 – Multigenerational T34s and T37s

Whale Report: July 30, 2023 – Multigenerational T34s and T37s

July 30, 2023 AM – We had an amazing encounter with a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T34s and T37s. This group of whales consists of two grandmothers, T34 “Grace” and T37 “Rocky”, and their children and grandchildren. The group of whales were found in the northern part of the San Juan Islands, near a small, state-park island known as Matia. We got to watch as the whales traveled very close to shore and even took some small cuts between the very shallow reefs into the small bay of the island. They spent over an hour traveling back and forth, hunting seals right in front of reefs. At one point, the smell of harbor seal blubber was very strong and we saw one of the whales do a unique behavior known as moonwalking or backwards swimming. This behavior is unique to the west coast Bigg’s Killer Whale population and happens most frequently after a successful hunt. After a fantastic encounter, we headed back to our dock in Friday Harbor.

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 Aug 13, 2023

Whale Report: July 30, 2023 – Multigenerational T34s and T37s

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