April 10th - The T123's hunting in Boundary Pass

Our 12pm departure led us out into the grey and rainy Salish Sea in search of fins or blows. Despite being cold and getting rained on continuously, passengers kept their eyes strained on the horizon and remained optimistic for reports. After covering a lot of ground we were at the bottom of Salt Spring Island when reports came through of transient orca near Orcas Island! In 20 minutes we were in the company of the T123 pod, a family of 4 killer whales, mom and three offspring.

Typical view of what a hunt looks like! Most of the work is done under the surface and you can see the whales’ fins zig-zagging around as they take turns catching their breath.

We watched them travel north in a hunting formation for about 45 minutes, when all of a sudden all whales changed direction and came together. They got something! We were unable to see what the lunch feature was, but we could smell it in the air. The large male, T123A, was going down for long breath holds, clearly working hard underneath us.

19 year old bull, Stanley (T123A), catching his breath at the surface.

After their meal was complete we were treated to a “celebration” of a job well done. The newest addition to this pod, tiny T123D who is less than a year old, was swimming along with mom and breaching continuously. So cute! Here are some of the best photos taken by naturalist Natalie Reichenbacher.

Baby breach!