A Day with JPod
Before leaving the dock this morning we had reports of both residents and transients, and made the decision to go south to meet our beloved Southern Residents. Shortly after leaving the harbor we met up with some members of J pod between Cattle Point and False Bay. They were spread out and appeared to be foraging. The weather was dry, the seas were calm, and for most of our encounter we were the only boat on scene. This made for a very peaceful trip, as we were able to shut our engine off and get lost in the sounds of the their exhalations. J34 (Doublestuf) passed right along side our vessel, though the excitement of the moment was tinged with a bit of grief because we were able to see an obvious depression behind his blowhole known as a “peanut head.” This depression is often a sign of emaciation in killer whales. Hopefully they’ll find lots of Chinook here in the Salish Sea in the upcoming weeks and months! We also saw J32 Rhapsody, J28 Polaris with her six-month-old calf, and J27 Blackberry traveling along side two youngsters. On our way back in we spotted two bald eagles sitting on the south end of Goose Island, and on the north end were lots of harbor seals hauled out, including at least one new pup. Another beautiful day with San Juan Excursions.
Naturalist Heather Hill
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