Our day with the Southern Ocean Orca was an extraordinary one as we enjoyed beautiful weather and two familiar pods of Orca, El Notcho’s pod and B-Slice’s pod were both travelling together. Arriving in the Patch we were greeted by B-Slice and his family who surged past our port side in an incredibly quick change of energy. Oil slicks had been on the surface and now the family began a steady movement west as a couple of blows on our stern were sighted and the tall dorsal fin of El Notcho appeared as he closely followed along with the family. A very interesting day as B-Slice and pod were being followed by El Notcho who was leading very closely behind them, perhaps a female is coming into season and El Notcho was trying to make a good impression! This behaviour continued for over 90 minutes as we enjoyed the company of both pods until eventually El Notcho reverted back to forming a foraging line and a quick change of direction had them moving back to the east. Suddenly, EL Notcho surged and the whole family took off as white water was sent flying in a spectacular sight as all 30+ Orca from both pods began to travel with speed and focus for a couple of nautical mile. A fascinating day with the Southern Ocean Orca and a wonderful opportunity to observe interactions between two of our favourite pods.

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