Friday May 9
J Pod returns!

Well what a fantastic day to be on an Orca Spirit boat! ‘Aquatic Dancer’, one of our zodiacs, captained by Cheri and trainee driver Tim, headed south out of Victoria Harbour on a 9am trip determined to find the wonder that is orca. We got an unconfirmed report that someone on land had spotted “critters” on the west side of San Juan Island, so we cranked the wheel to port and headed to San Juan Island, hoping to confirm the sighting. As we arrived on scene we could see blows off in the distance, and they were quite spread out. Transient killer whales (mammal-eating) don’t seem to travel this far apart we thought, could our beloved Resident killer whales (fish-eating) returned after being away for just over a month? There was only one way to tell. We needed to get a visual on a saddle patch (at the base of the dorsal fin) to see if it was “open”. Sure enough, after positioning ourselves offshore from the whales and out of their path, a female individual surfaced and we noticed a little open whisp at the top of the saddle patch. Yes, it was a resident, and yes, it was a member of J-pod (J11, aka ‘Blossom’), and yes it meant that J-pod had returned to our waters! Cheri and I couldn’t contain our excitement! Passengers were somewhat stunned as to our enthusiasm, but this truly was a wondrous occasion. Being the first whale watch boat on scene was very special, and the passengers certainly appreciated watching these amazing creatures forage, tail slap, pec slap, and even witness a breach off in the distance. Then came a familiar dorsal fin about 200m off our port stern, a male orca that is iconic in these waters and the most photographed killer whale in the world – J1, aka “Ruffles”. It was fantastic seeing Ruffles and his well over 5ft tall ruffled dorsal fin again, after he and the other 24 members of J-pod had been away for a month. After explaining the threats of salmon decline and environmental contamination facing these amazing, yet Endangered animals, it was time for us to head back to Victoria. Upon arriving back to the docks we had a boat load of passengers (and drivers!) with grins from ear to ear. What a fantastic morning trip it was. Stay tuned and read the next blog of our afternoon encounter with J-pod.

(See photos of driver Cheri “displaying” J-pod and their return, and also of passengers on the zodiac watching these graceful dolphins at play)

The afternoon trip on the ‘Orca Spirit’ headed out of the harbor with an eager Captain Brad and marine naturalist Tim, and a bunch of passengers that had no idea as to what sort of excitement they were in for. We headed back across to San Juan Island in the hope that J-pod were still around, and sure enough, they were! As a marine naturalist it really is incredible to witness passenger’s reactions the first time they see killer whales, and this afternoon’s trip certainly had some “in awe” passengers. We were very very fortunate enough to witness several breaches, by both juveniles and adults. It really is spectacular to see an animal that can weigh up to 6 tonnes propel it’s entire body a few feet out of the water, turn it sideways, then come crashing down with an almighty splash. We were also able to observe tail slaps, reverse tail slaps, pec slaps and some close travelling by the various members of the matrilines. With a hydrophone deployed and plugged in to our onboard speakers, passengers were able to hear the calls and clicks of these majestic creatures, and from personal experience and studying these vocalisations first hand last Fall, they really are fascinating and intriguing. Below are a couple of pictures of the passengers watching and filming these killer whales.

We left J-pod and headed across to Discovery Island where we saw over 30 Harbor Seals hauled out, plenty of which were looking very pregnant. These females are due to give birth in the coming months, at which time these haulouts will be littered with pups, but after 4-6 weeks they are left to fend for themselves, so some are often stranded, and as a result taken to refuges, rehabilitated, and released back into the wild.

Well what a fantastic day it was to be out on the water. Our resident J-pod returned after being away for just over a month, and there were some very lucky passengers onboard our zodiac in the morning and covered boat in the afternoon.
Welcome back J-pod, we certainly missed you, and hope to see you again very soon!