I found a local paper’s report about the latest orca sighting on Friday. Looks like we missed a doozie.
The ranger we spoke with today told me there is a service that will page you when the whales are coming. They charge “big bucks” for that service, though. I’m sure the captains of the whale watch boats all subscribe to it.
I think we’ll have to wait until next time to see the orcas.
For some reason I feel the need to correct people when they refer to Orcas as “whales”. They are not, they belong to the dolphin family and are, in fact, the largest species of dolphin on the planet.
While in the Orcas Islands you are most likely to encounter resident type Orcas (the ones that live in extended families and frequent the same waters year after year). Orcas with dorsal fins that curve backwards at the top are more likely females while taller and more triangular dorsal fins belong to resident males.
Enjoy! I wish I were there watching the Orcas. They are among my favorite species of animal on the planet!
Don’t worry. I used the term “whale” in the title only because a lot of the orcas-watching tours here bill themselves as “whale watching.” I’ve been trying this whole trip not to slip up and call them whales. Mostly I’ve succeeded. Mostly!
I thought the park ranger at Lime Kiln Park yesterday had a good approach. He would occasionally call them whales, but use the term “killer whales.” That seemed to me to be a good compromise between the uninformed tourists and the orca researchers there!