Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 25th, 2025 | 12:30 PM
We had another great day on the water this afternoon, where we got to spend time with two different Bigg’s Killer Whale matrilines that I have not seen before! Before leaving the dock, we had reports of these whales off the eastern side of Orcas Island, so we began traveling in that direction. Along our interisland cruise, we made a stop to see a number of harbor seals outside of Obstruction Pass. We got to see a few inch their way into the water and then begin swimming around. After this cute encounter, we continued north east into Rosario Strait and along the Orcas shoreline until catching up with the whales.
When we arrived on scene, we saw a number of dorsal fins breaking the surface and were excited to see a large male in the group! There were a total of 8 Bigg’s Killer Whales in the area, made up of the T46C and T75C matrilines. T46C1 Tsunami really stood out as a 19 year old male, and we noticed the distinct notches on his tall dorsal fin. The T75Cs also had two younger members, born in 2021 and 2023, so it was cool to see the vast differences in size among all the individuals. We noticed a few tail splashes from a few of these whales as they began to pick up speed, but they were fighting against a strong tidal current so they were mostly treadmilling southwest along the shore. Their slower travel allowed us to get fantastic looks each time they surfaced. Soon enough it was time to slowly begin to travel back towards Friday Harbor, so we continued watching the group surface along the shoreline until we were far enough away to pick up speed. I really enjoyed seeing these two families for the first time, and hope to see them again soon!