This morning, M/V Sea Hawk motored north toward Stuart Island. Just in between Spieden Island and Stuart Island we encountered a group offshore. We first saw a few of them porpoising quickly through the strait, and soon after we saw the whole family porpoising quickly out of the water. By doing this activity the group sped up to 12 knots! This is a pretty fast pace for our Resident Orcas to be traveling at. After trying to keep up with this lead group, we heard of another large group back north. Guests aboard M/V Sea Hawk were able to see some tail lobes and some great synchronized surfacing from mother and calf pairs! Everyone got a little excited to see a few younger calves! Toward the end of our trip, we were able to view one more male and guests saw a sprouting male! This male was apart of K-Pod and was born in 2001. Compared to K-25, who we saw earlier, this juvenile had a different dorsal fin shape and guests on board were able to see the difference! I always enjoy having guests on board who are interested on how to I.D. them because then they can see the differences in saddle patches and dorsal fins!
Aimee
Naturalist, M/V Sea Hawk, San Juan Outfitters Kayaking & Whale Watching