Southern Ocean Alive with Orca as we were surrounded with surging and breaching Orca within moments of arriving in The Patch. The energy was electric all day with the Orca as we had 360 degrees of white water with Orca launching all around. It has been a steady build up to this energy over the last week as the Orca moved quickly and with much excitement with all family members surfing from young calves to mature bulls. Multiple family pods joined together and surged with bow and wake riding one of the exhilarating highlights today. The breaching would light up all around as the Orca launched, tail slapping was also a big part of the communication amongst the pod members today. Cheryl fluke slapped and the family pod quickly regrouped as a murky shape appeared just below the surface.
It was the same inky appearance we sighted a couple of weeks back which was ink from a fresh squid that had been captured. It appeared the same was unfolding today as the brownish, inky hue surrounded a small area around the Orca as they twisted and rolled with small bits of white flesh in their mouths. It appeared the surge had paid off for this family pod of Orca but all that surface action came at a cost, the Pilot Whales were porpoising in on the action! Propelling themselves like bullets over the swell the Pilot Whales arrived in no time and powerfully pushed towards the Orca. It was incredible to watch the Southern Ocean alive with Orca and Pilot Whales as they all moved around us with energy and purpose. A very big male arrived on scene and it was the handsome Blackberry, how wonderful to see him looking so well since our last interaction back in Season 2021. A brilliant day out on the water which certainly showcased the high energy and enthusiasm of the oceans apes predator on the hunt.
