Here, you can see a pod of resident orcas. Resident pods are large, they're loud, they spend lots of time out at the surface, and they don't care who sees them! They're fish-eaters.
There's a baby in this group!
A great close-up of Pt. Retreat lighthouse.
Here we have a playful humpback calf. He decided to swing his tail out of the water for us!
This calf enjoyed leaning back with his face toward the sky.
We also got to see 10 humpbacks swimming together. If you'd like to see them, click HERE.
Next, a curious Steller's Sea Lion came up to our boat to see what all the commotion was about.
I think we scared him a little bit by the look on his face!
These next shots are of a pod of transient orcas! Transients are difficult to whale watch because their numbers are small, they are quiet, they don't spend much time at the surface, and they don't want to be seen. They're hunters, searching for prey. What do they hunt? Seals, sea lions, and baby whales.
Here's a LARGE male with a group of females. They were on the hunt for a nearby seal that swam past our boat.
The group started circling something beneath the surface.
You can see them swimming HERE.
The male in this group has a dorsal fin over 6ft tall! See how large he is in comparison to one of our boats?
This orca dives down quickly toward the kill.
Here's another great view of the large bull.
Here, you can see the orca's saddle patch. It's a marking behind the dorsal fin. You can supposedly identify individuals this way.
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