Another week has blown right by us and so comes another weekly recap. Here are the whales and wildlife that were encountered during our trips that ran September 21st through September 27th–some unforgettable encounters in this mix, for sure!
Bigg’s killer whales that we encountered over this last week consisted of a lot of “regional regulars” like: the T19 trio (traveling with T65A3 at one point), T36s (6) that switched up adult male partners and were seen with extended family member T137A “Jack” again, the T37 sisters (T37A and T37B) with their offspring (5), T49A1 was encountered roaming around on his own, meanwhile, his brother T49A2 and their uncle T49C partnered up and went on an absolute harbor seal-eating spree off the east side of Orcas Island one afternoon! The T109As (6) are still making rounds, sometimes way up in the Strait of Georgia, other times through the islands, and also along the shorelines of Vancouver Island, making a foray into the marina at Victoria! This makes for 25 individuals we personally encountered during this time span.
A notable encounter with the T36s and T137A happened just north of Hein Bank by a couple miles. When they were first found, they had appeared to be feeding–there was a TON of bird activity, slow circling by the whales, and some other behaviors indicating that they were prey sharing. What was incredible was this feeding would go on for a couple hours before the whales moved on. We’ll never know for absolute certain, but based on the size of some of the prey that was brought to the surface (after we had departed) and the amount of time they spent in roughly the same spot feeding, they may have predated on a minke whale. This is a pretty rare occurrence for us in the central Salish Sea since our minke whale population is somewhere around, or less than, 20 individuals. Of course we feel for the (probable) minke–we love watching them, too–but this is the circle of life stuff that happens with large, capable apex predators.
There were a few humpbacks that were spotted around the San Juan Islands, and those that we were able to identify include: BC1239 “Towers” and CRC-22818 (no nickname yet). These whales are still trying to pack on as much weight as possible before making their turn south and heading to the breeding grounds. A minke or two was picked up around the banks just south of the San Juan Islands as well–being elusive, as they tend to be.
Large male Steller sea lions are definitely a presence around the central Salish Sea and they have been awfully fun to observe. While resources are abundant and mating season is over, there is nothing to really compete about at this time of the year, unless they want to get persnickety about their resting spots. And on channel markers, they can often be an argument about space–or lack thereof–leading to high energy behaviors and some innocent sea lions getting knocked into the water! Guests (and us!) do enjoy a good sea lion spectacle.
As always, we look forward to seeing what next week has to offer us!
