Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Today found us in Haro Strait again. This time we were off of Henry Island to the north of San Juan Island. There was J pod and some of L pod. We watched them for awhile as they foraged and headed north. Then all of a sudden the activity began! There were multiply breaches, spy hops, cartwheels and somersaults. The change in behavior was so sudden, as if a light switch had been turned on. Perhaps they were full and done feeding and now it was playtime! We watched for the next hour or so and then had to head for home. As we started our engines and turned north to get ahead of the whales, they turned south. Someone in their pod (probably J2, 99 year old Granny) gave the word and all thirty something whales abruptly turned south. Orcas are a matriarchal society, meaning that the females call the shots. It is the oldest female in the pod who has the memory and knowledge of the area. Females can live to be up in their 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s. Males are not as long lived. J1 (Ruffles est. b. 1951) is the oldest male in all three pods (J, K and L).  Most males only live to be in their forties and the average female lives to be about 65 to 70. We took the picturesque route home through the middle of the islands. Whenever we can, we prefer this route, as it goes right through the middle of the islands with great views and narrow passes. We also saw harbor porpoise, a sea lion, harbor seals and many birds (see previous reports).