Encounters with Orcas

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Above; An orca amazes whale-watchers, from Robin Baird's Killer Whales of the World.

This page is for your orca stories! (And some of mine lol) Whether it's an enounter with a wild orca, or a special moment with a captive, I'd love to hear about it! (Feel free to send along photos)


These are two of my special moments with wild orcas:

My first encounter was in Alaska, just off Juneau. There was a pod of Alaskan residents (I don't know who) surrounding us. Everyone was at the front, watching two females pass by, but for some reason I dropped back and went to the back of the boat. I was leaning against the rail when suddenly there was a loud WHOOSH. I looked down and to my astonishment, a female was directly in front of me. I could've touched her she was so close. A second later her little calf, probably not even a year old, popped up. The calf rolled over and stared me right in the eye as his/her mother dove down. A few seconds passed, and then the calf dove as well. I'll certainly never forget that!

My second encounter was off Washington. We were watching J Pod, and Granny (J2) and Riptide (J30) were fairly far out. Riptide did a few breaches. Then Ruffles (J1) came right up beside us, staying with us for a few moments (showing off how beautiful he is!!) and then pulling ahead. On the other side, Granny came up beside us for a bit.


These two encounters were sent to me by Nikki:

June 2005
Whale watch-I was out on a boat with the Mosquito Fleet Whale Watch-J1 Ruffles was playing around the boat-surfacing so close

August/Sept 2005
Whale watch with Mystic Sea-this whale watch has been by far the best-They are the only ones I will ride-on nurmous occasions we were surrounded by whales...L53 and L73 stayed around the boat for a long while...The calfs played around us-speed swimming, porpoises, and breaching..