Western Prince Whale Watching

Written by Bethany
on Jun 09, 2022

Whale Watching San Juan Islands Extra Special Encounter

Whale Watching San Juan Islands Extra Special Encounter

May 29, 2022 – Incredible Bigg’s Killer Whale Encounter!

This trip was an incredible one out on the water! As we left Friday Harbor, we got a report of a group of Bigg’s Killer Whales north, by Sucia Island. We headed out and just as we got on scene, the whales had started to hunt a harbor seal! It was spectacular to see their hunting behavior, especially because there were several younger whales present and they were practicing with their older siblings and mothers. We were able to identify the whales present as the T123s and the T75Bs.

T123A “Stanley” and T75B4

Both of these are families consist of a mother and her three offspring which means the group had eight Bigg’s Killer Whales total! It was great to see the range of sizes and ages in the families with T123A “Stanley” being the largest as a 22-year old adult male killer whale, and T75B4 being the smallest as a less than 1-year old calf. The whales made quick work of the harbor seal and as they were milling about, suddenly, the fully grown male killer whale T123A “Stanley” breached out of the water! He amazed us with three huge belly flop breaches in a row and then a final half-breach!

After that, for several minutes, he turned on his side and slapped the water with his huge pectoral fins while the other whales continued to do several social surface behaviors like tail slaps, backwards swimming and spy hops.

T123A “Stanley” on his side, doing pectoral fin slaps

One of the younger whales doing a breach

“Stanley” then moved on to huge tail lobs, throwing his massive tail out of the water and slapping it against the surface! Two of the younger whales even did a double breach together!

T123A “Stanley” doing a huge tail lob

T123D “Darcy” and T75B3 “Rubble” doing a double breach together!

These kinds of active surface behaviors tend to be rare for Bigg’s Killer Whales, and especially adult male killer whales, so it was so special to be there for this encounter! What a fantastic way to end the month of May!

As we are progressing into the busier part of our season here in the San Juan Islands, our sightings of wildlife have continued to be fantastic. If you’re interested in booking a whale watching tour with us, we will have two trips going out daily, one departing at 11am and one departing at 3pm. Just give us a call or book online if you want to join us for an adventure!

Email: inquire@orcawhalewatch.com
Phone: 360-378-5315

Written by Bethany
on Jun 09, 2022

Whale Watching San Juan Islands Extra Special Encounter

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