I completely agree. I have thousands of hours flying time on floats and
wheels between the San Juans and SE Alaska, and in all that territory,
including Johnstone Straight's well-known rubbing beaches, it's right here,
specifically west of San Juan Island, where all summer long small groups of
killer whales are surrounded by tour boats, that even if well-behaved draw
others who are frequently quite reckless. Ditto aircraft flying below the
legal 1,000 or 1,100 foot limit (depends on whom you ask).

These people are hard to catch, even when they repeatedly harass the
animals, occasionally running them down. Several times each season I tried
to get ID on offending boats but it is difficult. The only way I had any
success was to follow them home, land and talk with them. But mostly it's
like watching tourists chase and harass the bears in Yellowstone.

I have been able to repeatedly observe that kayaks (and canoes and other
human powered boats, and sailboats without auxiliaries) are different,
apparently in not having the same sonic impact that a powered boat does,
plus the fuel issue. Powerboats and auxiliary sailboats, even if the engine
is turned off, still drip fuel, but a kayak or canoe never does unless the
operator does something both deliberate and stupid: "I think I'll take my
meager supply of cooking fuel and risk capsizing while trying to dig it out
and then dump it overboard just for the hell of it." Not likely.

I must say, too, that the Killer Whale behavior one observes in this area
seems mild and domesticated, almost tame, in comparison to that I've
observed farther north. I've seen groups of more than 50 individuals
traveling together fast, with smaller (what I took to be younger) males in
front usually coming completely out of the water with each breath for hours
on end (perhaps, however, not the same individual, but the group activity
continues for quite some time), then a line abreast of females and calves,
then somewhere lurking behind there's always one (or more? Hard to know
for sure) giant bull, big enough to make you nervous even from a quarter
mile away straight up.

I have no idea what that means, and though I'd love to I can't honestly
blame it on stupid human behavior. It's just a difference between resident
and traveling pods. Native groups were similar, those from the north being
sometimes much more aggressive than those who stayed south of the 50th
parallel all the time.



At 11:02 PM 6/12/02 -0700, you wrote:
>MEYER2J at aol.com wrote:
> >
> > Hi Tweets:
> >
> > If you're looking for an opportunity to possibly see Orca whales, join
> > East Lake Washington Audubon on their field trip with Viking Cruises.
>
>Tweeters, et al.
>
>If you are looking for an opportunity to contribute to the demise of the
>orca whale then by all means take a whale watching trip in the San Juans.
>
>I'm sorry but, after witnessing the passage of a small group of orcas
>last week around Guemes, I can't avoid the impression that these
>creatures are being disturbed by the flotilla of observers that
>accompanies them.
>
>Every summer, all summer long, orcas are followed by throngs of
>observers. The tour operators are in radio contact with each other and
>once a group of whales is sighted the circus begins. Sure there is a
>distance that is supposed to be kept between the observers and the
>observed and I think most operators try to maintain this protocol but
>the fact remains that these creatures are closely followed throughout
>the summer. I can't help but feel that they are disturbed. I know that
>it is not scientific fact. A correlational study would reveal that as
>tours have increased orca numbers have decreased. That wouldn't offer a
>very powerful argument for limiting the number of whale watching tours.
>By the time some evidence of cause and effect could be tested the whales
>may be gone.
>
>You know, I may be full of it but after watching the watchers I just had
>to say something. There are many threats to the fauna of the the greater
>Puget Sound. Pollution is probably a greater threat than observer
>harassment. We should try to be careful with our choices so that we
>cause as little harm as possible.
>
>Have a good trip.
>
>Paul
>
>ps. Two red-tailed hawks are fledging from their nest this week.
>
>Paul Moorehead
>Guemes, WA

Jack