Tag Archives: tall dorsal fin

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On Monday a pod of perhaps twenty Killer Whales was spotted off Point Arena. Emails and telephone calls ensued as we tried to photograph the pod. They were several miles out, however, and moving FAST. Dean Schuler got this photograph from The Sea Ranch.

 It was fun following them down the coast. Unfortunately for Dean, a fishing boat saw this pod and headed towards them. The pod then dove and disappeared from view.

Though this photo was not taken off the Mendonoma Coast, I thought you'd enjoy seeing this close up that Tom Eckles took from a 12 person inflatable boat in the San Juan Islands. It looks like a male with the very tall dorsal fin and a female with the smaller, curved dorsal fin.

Thanks to Dean and Tom for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, here's his website: tomeckles.com

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John Batchelder noticed the tall dorsal fin indicative of an Orca, aka Killer Whale. Then he saw a second one. California Sea Lions had been seen rafting in the same area two days earlier.

 Orcas aren't Whales - they are actually Dolphins, albeit BIG ones!

Below you will see the Sea Lions John photographed two days before the Orcas showed up.

Orcas hunt Sea Lions, among other large creatures of the sea. Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photos with you here.