It was a KILLER day in the channel with multiple matrilines of killer whales. From large adult males to small calves, we enjoyed spending our entire trip with the ocean's apex predator. Here's how the encounter went.
Upon arriving on scene the whales were in 2 separate groups. One of about 10 killer whales and another of 3. They slowly meandered around the boat and spent much time on the surface. It is unclear exactly what they were up to, but they spent most of the day socializing in the same spot in the channel. For an instant today, our drone operator Adam thought he saw a piece of blubber (from that of a deceased whale), floating in the water column. It quickly disappeared but its presence could give us an indication as to why the whales were there. They're known to "stash," away food in the middle of the water column where neutral buoyancy occurs. In this instance, however, it will remain a mystery. When the three other killer whales off in the distance joined up, they all started going west, again in separate groups. 3 of the adult females were hanging out with an adult male, while the rest of the whales were a couple hundred yards in front of them. They continued west into the channel until we left them to return home. Before reaching the dock we also ran into a huge group of common dolphins that were safe and sound from the predators miles away.
Our 4th killer whale encounter of the year was our best one yet and we can't wait until we're lucky enough to be in their presence once again.
Until Next Time,
The SBWW Crew
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