Mama Hutchins (T100) and her 3 children, T100C (Laurel) T100E (Tharaya), and T100F (Estrella) were hanging out at Secret Cove today. It was a gorgeous bright sunny calm morning. Laurel, her large son is in his 20th year, stole the show with his large dorsal fin that is more eye-catching than his younger sisters; and his mother’s dorsal fins (but don’t tell them we said that!) This family was heading north in the bright sunshine and then mom decided it was nap time. Yes, the matriarch of the pod decides when her pod will sleep. Orca tend to sleep for about 2-hours at a time, day or night, and get about 8-hours of sleep over a 24-hour period. When orca sleep, they line up, basically flipper-to-flipper then take shallow dives. At this time, only half their brains turn off, while the other half is still “on” to allow them to return to the surface to breathe. With half their brains still “on” they are fully aware of what is going on around them.

Have you ever wondered if orca marvel at the scenery around them? The spectacular coastal mountain range topped with snow or the rugged coastlines? Their brains are 4 times larger than humans, and their brains are more folded, which researchers believe gives them greater cognitive function. Researchers also believe that an additional lobe allows them to process emotions on a deeper level than humans.

In addition to marveling at the orca, it was calm enough during this trip to see some of our gelatinous friends as well. There were jellyfish drifting gently alongside our vessels, moon jellies to be specific, as well as Ctenophores. Ctenophores are amazing little animals, with plates of cilia located around their body following the radial symmetry that makes up their body shape. These cilia plates beat in synchronicity with each other in a frequency that scatters light to produce rainbows! These rows of cilia, also called comb rows are where they get their common name, comb jellies, from! The ones we were seeing on the trip are the most common species in our area, the sea gooseberry.

Our marine naturalists Val and Janine got some amazing photos from the trip which you can see below!