New Bremer Bay Orca calf Mabe was sighted today with a very special family pod we don’t see often who made a surprise appearance in the sighting grounds! Led by matriarch Eevie the family arrived in style as a solid wall of Orca moved towards us in an impressive FLOT line as they surfaced alongside us with a tiny flash of orange and black indicating a brand new Pod Member for this Orca family. The little one was swimming strongly and moved alongside mum with ease which was fantastic to see as they pushed into the wind and swell. The name Mabe (pronounced Mar-bay) is a term used for describing a half pearl or blister pearl which is grown on the inside of a pearl shell. Our families history in pearling inspired the name for this new calf whose Pod Members currently have shell themed name inspirations including Shell, Cowry and Bailor who are fellow members of this special Orca family. All looking well we were also able to name the mother of this new calf as Coral along with a young male known as Triton after the Triton Shell.
The family is looking well and it was fantastic to spend some time with them along with Kidji and Alki as they all joined in with the surge to the west. It was a surfing day as they made the most of the conditions while also enjoying some bow and wake riding. It is always incredible to watch the speed, agility and precision of the Orca as they cut through the swell with ease. The family pods made good time as they covered ground quickly with the help of their surfing speed and amongst the commotion a rogue Manta Ray was seen heading straight for us! A big surprise as we rarely sight these creatures this far south as they get carried along with the Leeuwin current. The most interesting part of the encounter was the reaction of the Orca who zipped past, tilted their head slightly before continuing on with their westward surf trip. Manta Ray moved east unscathed and it was a rather casual moment between these two species who seemed unbothered by each others presence as they continued on with their day. The diet of our Bremer Bay Orca does not look to include shark or ray with today being a good example of that. It was another wonderful day with the Orca and yet another brand new member of this every growing population as we say a big welcome to baby Mabe, we cant wait to watch you grow into an apex predator in the years ahead.
