Blood in the Water

Below: A Transient Orca sends a Dall's flying through the air. See the rest of the pics at http://www.whaleresearch.com/thecenter/Encounters_2008_007.html

Well guys, I missed it. I missed the biggest excitement on the island since I got here. Apparently there were Transient Orcas hunting on the West side of the island while I was working in the office on Wednesday. Now, Transients hang out around the straits relatively frequently, but it was what they were doing that was so exciting. They found a Dall’s Porpoise and her calf and took advantage of the situation. They ate the calf first and then went after the mother. They launched her some 25ft in the air in attempt to stun her before they began feeding. This behavior is rarely caught by humans and I totally regret that I missed it. Mike and I were mourning the loss of opportunity last night at dinner when we began chatting about what would happen if we saw it and there were kids on the boat. He said he’d let me handle the questions about Willy eating Flipper. Haha. They also ate a Harbor Seal not far from the research boat. I wish I could have seen it. It was definitely a National Geographic moment.

This Tuesday night I met a guy who works for the Center for Whale Research. Of course I had to ask millions of stories about the whales and he mentioned the excitement about watching Transients feeding. (Little did we know he’d be witnessing it the next morning. Lame.) However, some good did come out of the evening. He shared information about volunteering opportunities with the Center. I really would like to volunteer for them and learn more about the whales. Not only would this make me a better Naturalist, but I think it’d be really fun. They catalog the individual whales in an annual census, monitor behaviors, and even examine their poo! (Don’t ask.)

In order to take my mind off missing the Transients, I began painting my small canvases. The underwater one turned out a little too dark… but I’m just saying that’s because it’s underwater. I really like how the jumping one turned out. I think it looks the best. Then I painted the large canvas this morning. I’m happy with it, other than the fact that the waves look like polka dots. I really need to work on how to make waves realistic. I guess that will come with more practice. (At least the whales look semi-decent.)

I hope all is well with everyone. I will be working for the next week straight because Nancy and Pete are out of town. This means I will be the only Naturalist on the trips, so wish me luck. I’ll be pretty busy so I don’t know how often I can be online. Stay in touch.

Below: The new living room set-up with all the driftwood and paintings. Hopefully it looks more like a home now!