Today was one of those days where we didn’t want to say it buuuuut, from the weather forecast, we were pretty bloody confident it was going to be a cracker! The rolling swell, the almost 100% cloud cover and the easterly winds provided the perfect ominous orca conditions!
Of course, we had sightings from the moment we entered the hotspot, As Feb-March is considered the “peak” of our orca season! We were soon greeted by Noosa and Urkel’s pod! The family group was avidly patrolling the area for a beaked whale brunch. With no luck, the juvenile’s attention soon turned…to US! Blade and baby Machi played together for over an hour, blowing bubbles RIGHT beneath our bow and darting back and forth, upside down and back to front!
We were lucky to have the HUNTRESS make an appearance, bringing with her Nani’s pod and the little neonate NEO! By now we had juveniles dancing, riding the swell and flopping all over each other and alongside us! The matriarchs slowly cruised the outskirts, Noosa, Split-tip, Tarni, Flapper and Adina! It was so incredible to watch the girls all hang out and hunt as one! Urkel followed on closely behind like he was in a time out!
One of our regular juveniles Wonks is growing immensely and has had some recent alterations to her dorsal! She was chasing the younger calves around almost as if she was picking on them and stirring them up as they surfed the waves to escape her! On closer encounter, we discovered that Wonks is, in fact, a male! This is something you can only discover in one way…the genitals, which were on show for everyone to see, and no that’s not how wonks got his name!
Was Wonks trying to mate with the youngsters? Or merely a little excited from all the fun being had! It’s not uncommon for juveniles to experiment with their family members before they’re sexually mature. In fact, this is something that is seen quite regularly in the animal kingdom.
It’s fair to say today was an eventful day out here in Bremer Bay Canyon’s Killer Whale Watching Tour!!
