Written by: Ryan, Lead Naturalist
The past week has been great for any of our guests hoping to view some Humpback Whales but a fantastic Killer Whale encounter seemed to be the highlight of the week.
During a private charter on Orca Mist, we were excited to come across the T65A family of Bigg’s Killer Whales. One of the males of this group, T65A2 (Ooxjaa) is well known by the community for having gone into Victoria’s inner harbour a few years ago.
This particular family was discovered in Spiden channel, along the North end of San Juan Island. They found a tasty Steller sea lion to prey on but the killer whales decided playing with their food was their top priority. There were multiple tail slaps against the sea lion and they even pulled out a couple of full-speed headbutts during the hunt. Luckily for the sea lion, the killer whales actually drove him closer to shore, where some other sea lions jumped into the water to ward them off.
If you’re a fan of Humpback Whales, you would be delighted to hear that we recorded our first humpback breach of the season! Right up Haro Strait was where the humpback Malachite was found. After viewing for a handful of minutes, went airborne! Shortly after he disappeared into the depths and was not spotted again until about 2 hours later, further North in the gulf islands.
It’s hot out here in Victoria with this little heat wave we’ve been experiencing so there’s no better time to get out on the water for that cool ocean breeze. More exciting encounters are bound to happen!
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