Written by Alison
on Oct 27, 2024

Whales off of Victoria

Whales off of Victoria

September 5, 2024 – It was a classically beautiful day in the Salish Sea and we were ready for an adventure. We had a couple of options of where to go and Captain JB decided to head south. Our first stop was to see the Steller Sea Lions hauled out at Whale Rocks. The tide was starting to run and several juvenile Steller’s jumped into the surf and started leaping about. It was so fun for us to watch, but the other Steller’s on the rocks seemed unimpressed and went on with their naps. Next we headed out into the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca SW, we were on our way to Canada. After a 30 minute run we encountered members of two family groups from the Bigg’s Killer Whale population. We had the 3 members of the T37A’s. Those present were Volker the 30 year old mother and 2 of her 5 kiddos, 15 year old Inky, a sprouting male with a big nick in his fin, and 9 year old Crinkle. Crinkle has bent over dorsal with a nick at the tip. We also had 5 of the 7 members of the T49A’s Bigg’s Killer Whale family. This family is led by Nan, a 38 year old mother of 6. Her 2 oldest sons, Noah and Jude were not present but the 4 younger offspring were present. They included Nat (13 M), Neptune (10 M), Nebula (7 F) and Smoosh Face (2 M). Little Smoosh Face has a flattened rostrum with a developing underbite that is believed to be from an injury when he was really little. Right as we got there they started to circle and we thought they might be hunting. Sure enough one of the whales surfaced with a seal hanging out of its mouth. It barely broke the surface but you can see the spotted gray fur of the seal between the teeth of the Orca! I saw another seal pop up after this so there is a good chance they got 2. I love it when 2 or more family groups get together. As can be typical the mom’s hang out together and the older boys hang out together and the little ones as well. Before we left Nat did a few big lunges and gave us the Orca/Mt. Baker shot. We got a few tail slaps and a lovely side eye too. We left them with the backdrop of the Elwha River Valley and the Olympic mountains. A beautiful day 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 Oct 27, 2024

Whales off of Victoria

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