15.02.2022
Spying!
El Notcho’s pod were putting on a fishing masterclass this morning! With their natural instincts taking over they worked systematically with each pod member having a role to play.
Swirl came in for a close pass, exactly as she did yesterday! She was on our stern and hung off to one side for an extra-long second.
The pod came back into their close formation so we left them to have a rest and some peace and quiet! In the meantime, we ventured outside our hotspot into an unknown. Here we never know what we are going to find. We may come across another cetacean species or maybe more orca pods. It has proven to be a good move over the years so we had our fingers crossed.
It all seemed pretty barren while searching, until the distinct brown bird swirl uncovered was about to be an epic afternoon.
Three calves belonging to Split Tips pod came in FAST. They pumped their little tails and were underneath the vessels hulls within seconds. They rolled and pushed and rolled more over each other. This behaviour has been going on all season with these three little tackers and we have been able to watch them gain independence by spending less and less time with their mothers and more with each other and other whales.
Wonks really turned up the excitement this afternoon! He was also rolling, pushing and tumbling at the surface with Split Tip and Flapper, plus her little calf too. The four of them would drop down for a few moments before coming back to the surface and being completely wrapped up in each other.
Wonks was then trying to navigate the surface by spy-hopping. He effortlessly rose up, giant pecs and all, with his eyes wide open taking us all in! A few close passes were also on his to-do list, before gently rolling over Flapper.
This behaviour continued on for over an hour. We left the hotspot with aching cheeks from smiling so much today!!
