{"id":200635,"date":"2017-09-21T08:10:21","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T06:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/orcas-puget-sound\/"},"modified":"2024-10-28T18:51:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T16:51:30","slug":"orcas-puget-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wereldwyd.co.za\/en\/orcas-puget-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Orcas in Puget Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"

We visited the \u2018American Serengeti\u2019 that harbours one of the highest concentrations of whales, dolphins and marine life in the world, including a totem species, the orca<\/strong>. Because of widespread wildfires in British Columbia and elsewhere, much of the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle, was covered by a thick layer of smoke, coming throuqgh at the same time as a heatwave. Despite the smoke we had a great morning spotting two pods of wild orca.<\/p>\n

On 6 September 2017, we did a half-day trip on the Chilkat<\/em> Express<\/em> from Edmonds (just north of Seattle) and about an hour into the cruise, travelling south in Puget Sound, we could see orcas! The Southern Resident orcas are actually a large extended family, or clan, comprised of three pods: the J, K and L pods. Within each pod, families form into sub-pods centred around older females, usually grandmothers or great-grandmothers. Both male and female offspring remain in close association with their mothers for life. We saw a pod of Transient orcas<\/em><\/strong>, the mammal-eating killer whales.<\/p>\n

Puget Sound Express is a proud member of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), dedicated to responsible, sustainable marine wildlife viewing and conservation in the Pacific Northwest. The Chilkat Express<\/em> is a hydrofoil jet boat with no propellers, making it one of the quietest in the whale watch fleet.<\/p>\n

Wild animals would not stay in a country where there were so many people. Pa did not like to stay, either. He liked a country where the wild animals lived without being afraid.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Laura Ingalls Wilder<\/p>\n

Photography by Ronel van Zyl<\/strong><\/p>\n