Did you know that orcas (aka Killer Whales) can swim around 35 knots?! For you landlubbers that is around 40 mph or 65 km/hr! This means that they are one of the fastest marine mammals, and just imagine a whole group of those orcas speeding towards you! We saw their awesome speed capabilities today. We headed towards a reported sighting near Mandarte Island. We crossed Haro Strait and soon saw an impressive line of large, dark dorsal fins rising through the mists in between the islands. There were two families of Transient Orcas! The Transients are the marine mammal hunters and they had just made a kill, and were feasting in their usual celebratory way. These two families were the T77’s and the T75’s. After the were done eating with blood still staining the water around them, they jaunted off. They were traveling super fast back towards the islands, and as we turned back towards San Juan I saw a young Sea Lion pop its head up with a very relieved look on its face!
On our way back we stopped to see a bunch of Harbor Seals, a few Bald Eagles hunting, and some exotic Mouflon Sheep that inhabit one of the islands here. Whale folks, until next time.
Naturalist Erick
M/V Kittiwake