Meet new Orca calf Luna who we met for the very first time today as she popped up next to mum Moon as The Patch filled with social Orca families. It was a busy day as we arrived in The Patch and could observe distinctive male Biggs and his family pod socialising with Hookfin and his family pod. It was a fun morning as all the Orca spread out over a large area and socialised around us playfully. Hookfin was belly up and flirty as he approached all the females while beautiful boy Biggs looked enormous as usual with his towering dorsal fin above all the others. A very large oil slick was lingering on the surface and was at least a few hours old with a distinctive gamey scent which indicated the Orca had been successful in a Beaked Whale hunt earlier on. The behaviour certainly indicated full bellies as the Orca enjoyed a morning of social interaction.
Amongst all the fun we noticed that Moon had a very small shadow right alongside her… it was a brand new Orca calf! The little one looks to have been born in the winter of 2022 and is in great health. A wonderful surprise and we are very excited for Moon who now has a precious bub to nurture and raise alongside her family pod. The young calf has been named Luna and we look forward to spending some more time with this lovely family throughout the season ahead. A further pod was moving into the area as we joined with them and smiled to see we had Lucy’s pod as they moved powerfully into deeper water. A FLOT line formed as they spread out over a large distance in forage mode and covered ground efficiently. A while later they decided it was time to relax as the sun came out and the beautiful blue water accentuated the jet black and white of the Orca as they swam alongside us playfully. B-Slice is getting massive as his huge frame glided underneath our bow and we always love to spend time with this most friendly boy.
