This afternoon the weather was cloudy and grey as we boarded the Orca Spirit and pulled out of the harbour. Turning east, we headed towards San Juan Islands, where orcas had been spotted earlier that morning. After speeding past Discovery and Chatham Island we approached San Juan Islands, heading into American waters where we could see some boats gathered in the distance. Thankfully the weather was no indication of luck, as after a few more minutes we finally spotted orcas in the distance, and got a great surprise! All three of the pods belonging to the Southern Resident Population, or fish eating orcas, were together in a group known as a Superpod!

The Superpod includes all three pods of orcas known as J, K and L pods, which includes a total of approximately 89 orcas! Each of these pods are usually found separate or only with a few members of another pod throughout the summer months in Victoria, so it is rare to find all three groups together. They were very spread out, in an area near the southern tip of San Juan Island, surfacing in the distance on all sides of the boats.

We watched a group of about six orcas, mostly female with one large male, as they appeared to be doing a mix of hunting and playing. After watching for quite a while the female orcas began doing a series of breaches, tail lobs, and pectoral slaps on the water, indicating they were feeling playful. After many photos we had unfortunately run out of time and turned west heading back towards the harbour, the amazing sight of the Superpod still on everyone’s minds.