Written by Bethany
on May 25, 2023

Whale Report: May 13, 2023 – Two humpback whales and the T36As!

Whale Report: May 13, 2023 – Two humpback whales and the T36As!

May 13, 2023 – What a fun trip! Before we even got up to speed to start our trip, Naturalist Bethany spotted a humpback blow right outside of Friday Harbor! She was able to identify the humpback as BCX1057 “Divot”, a very well-known whale in the San Juan Islands. We had some beautiful looks of this whale as she surfaced underneath Mt. Baker before heading off in search of more wildlife! We then got a report of a group of killer whales further north across the Canadian border and it turned out to be a group known as the T36As. When we arrived, they were busy hunting a California sea lion that was taking shelter by trying to climb on top of a floating log. Eventually, the family of whales moved away from the lucky sea lion but they must have caught something else because suddenly, the younger calves in the group started breaching! We got some great looks at the babies as they leapt out of the water several times, even in front of Mt. Baker! At one point, another humpback suddenly appeared very close to the killer whales and interrupted their post-hunt celebration! Naturalist Bethany was able to ID this whale as BCZ0414 “Zephyr”, the daughter of our previously spotted humpback “Divot”! Sometimes humpbacks will try to protect other animals from killer whale attacks but she was too late this time. After surfacing a few times near the killer whales, “Zephyr” moved on. It was a very action-packed encounter! California Sea Lion taking shelter during the hunt on a floating log

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 May 25, 2023

Whale Report: May 13, 2023 – Two humpback whales and the T36As!

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