#transient orca

[hurglewurm]

learned about orcas recently... playing with concepts in my mind... here's girls

[cipher-the-sidhe]

Bigg’s killer whale looking for a sea lion snack in the Salish Sea 02/08/24.

Photo from the Center for Whale Research

[lightningshotss]

CA 140 Emma

Transient Killer whale (orcinus orca)

taken off the coast of California

The killer whale populations here are studied by local scientists and so many are known/familiar individuals! This is just the dorsal fin of one but she is one of the most frequently seen and easily recognized matriarchs - CA 140 Emma. To identify a killer whale they use their eye patch and dorsal fin and Emma has this double notch in her dorsal resembling an m or E. If I recall she’s even in some nature documentaries (specifically ones where they hunt gray whales since she’s well known for these hunts).

[storytyme-13]

My brain just remembered that it's mermay so I turned myself and a handful of my friends into mermaids

[aleksiann]

“Surfacing”

Reference image by Kat Martin

[pacific-island-witch]

Did a thing today and painted some orcas. The top was done with gauche (watercolor) and the bottom with acrylic. I think I prefer the top. Working with water colours is just so much easier to get those shadows and it’s much softer.

Gonna do another tomorrow and see if I can work on technique and developing depth.

[toxic-north]

The big fin in the back belongs to “The Church” or T77B. He’s 19 years old and has a beautiful 6 foot tall dorsal fin. Btw, that fin will keep growing for 6 more years!

That little snoot poking out of the water belongs to T124A6, aka “Kasuun”. A three year old member of the 124A pod.

T124 is an incredibly successful orca, being responsible for the lives of 14 more orcas! Kasuun and the 124A’s were hanging out with The Church and the other 77’s in the middle of the strait of Georgia on the 22nd, which is where I managed to get this stellar shot.

Yesterday I got to hang out with some of the other 124’s, specifically Kasuuns brother, 124A1, the 124A2’s (Kasuuns sisters pod) and 124C, Cooper, who is Kasuun’s uncle! (And the first whale I ever saw!!)

Having the privilege of watching these beautiful creatures every day tells me I’m on the right path in life.

Despite what some think, as a whale tour guide, I educate people on marine conservation, the history of the orcas in bc, how far they’ve come and we ensure we are watching the whales properly - from a safe distance without interfering. We also do our part to educate recreational boaters who don’t know the rules when traveling near a pod of orcas, and having whale watching boats on scene helps larger vessels - like ferry’s and tankers- see where the whales are and avoid them. If there were no whale boats on scene a ferry or tanker wouldn’t be able to see the whales location and avoid it in time.

[noaasanctuaries]

A visitor from the north! 

Photographer Douglas Croft snapped this photo of transient orca T165 in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary back in April. T165 and his family usually range in the waters of British Columbia and Alaska, and this was their first recorded visit to Monterey Bay. 

(Photo: Douglas Croft)

[Image description: An orca swimming away from the camera.]