Lauren Tschirhart | May 24th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm
Today I got the opportunity to see something I have never knowingly observed before, which was a Stellar Sea Lion pup! Before getting into why that is such a rarity, let’s start from the beginning.Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife tour departed Friday Harbor and headed towards the ferry route. We crossed San Juan Channel and cruised through Upright, eventually making our way through Peavine Pass on the north side of Blakely. Once we made our way into Rosario Strait we caught up with a family of three Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T018’s or T019’s. This family is made up of matriarch T019/Nootka and her two adult sons T019B/Galiano and T019C/Spouter. These whales were spread out across the channel, none of them traveling in close proximity to the other. T019B and T019C have two of the largest dorsal fins in the population, so they are always a fan favorite to view! T019C/Spouter was the star of the tour as he was the only whale in the group that was consistently surfacing near our vessel. The legendary Captain Gabe ended our time on scene by lining T19C/Spouter up with Mount Baker in the distance, allowing for our guests to get the ultimate “money shot.” On our way back to Friday Harbor we stopped by the Peapod Island group to look at some sun bathing harbor seals. After our seal stop we continued on towards a large green navigational marker that had a rumored Steller Sea Lion pup on it. Although the report came from a reliable source, we were all pretty skeptical, as there is not an active Steller rookery here in the inter-islands of the Salish Sea. A rookery is a breeding colony, and since there isn’t one near Friday Harbor, seeing a Steller Sea Lion pup is extremely rare. The Salish Sea ecosystem is ever evolving and changing, and year after year we keep seeing more and more Steller’s in the area. As we got closer to the green can, we noticed a much tinier sea lion resting next to two larger ones. A pup indeed! Later that night we received photos from a colleague of that same individual nursing! One day, this may be a regular occurrence, but today it was truly something special.