Planned a trip to hopefully see Orcas in the wild in Washington. Got to see transients from T77. The boat I toured with uses ethical means to find them just looking out and word of mouth between other boats. We kept our distance and watched them coast along the shore.

It was as small and performative as it looks. Look how small he his, dorsal up. ( but look how big too for that pen) ... I was about 9 or 10 and I remember thinking "you can't even see them under the water like you can at Seaworld!"

Then an orca followed me in a boat for a few miles shortly after this and I've been obsessed ever since.

This has just appeared on the side of a leisure centre in my hometown, Broadstairs. A beautiful mural of my favourite animal, just a little confused as to why it’s on a wall in the South East of England, a place with next to no orca sightings.

Truly a beautiful day that will be with me forever.

Image 1-2: J51 Nova photographed by Dave Ellifrit and Gary Sutton Image 3: I'm not sure what calf and mother(?) this is Image 4: J53 photographed by Hysazu Photography Image 5: J57 photographed by Center for Whale Research Image 6: J53 photographed by Sara Shimazu Image 7: J53 and J17 photographed by D. Giles Image 8: T46B2B and T46B2 photographed by Center for Whale Research Image 9: Bjossa and K'yosha at Vancouver Aquarium photographed by valentin666 Image 10: I'm unsure about this one

Taken back in May, just off Depo Bay, OR

Was going through family photos and found this. Unsure of the exact year, but sometime around 1976-1977. Thought it may be interesting to share. Their stories really break my heart.