Orca whale . . . #orca #orcawhale #orcawhales #killerwhales #killerwhale #southernresidentkillerwhales #southernresidentorcas #whalewise #orcanetwork #savethewhales #artistsoninstagram #artistsoninstagram #procreateart #procreate #digitalart #art #artwork #artist #artofinstagram #orcaart #killerwhaleart https://www.instagram.com/p/CJCNhxdD5JJ/?igshid=1021u5qn9ju9a

© 📷 🖋 @jordangatto Read Cap It isn't too often I witness a tour operation have an inappropriately close encounter with Killer whales and see the resulting images continuously pop up on my feed as they're shared by people looking to get as close as possible to wildlife. I just so happened to witness this particular one from start to finish so lets go through it. After finishing documenting important information on a trio of Humpback whales outside Beaver Cove we followed up on a report of KWs close by in Weynton Pass that whale watchers were still on scene with. They turned out to be the I35s and had been playing and fishing in the Pass for some time. As we rounded the Stephenson islands the small tourism vessel seen in the picture went past us at quite high speeds also headed for the whales. It shut down just ahead of the whales and began to turn to point in the same direction as the whales. The I35s didnt seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere so we watched as they continued to fish and be social. They slowly got closer and closer to the vessel, they were easy to keep track of as they were so surface active, and eventually got right along side them which is when a pair of them began to breach. Vessels are supposed to keep a minimum of 200m from Northern Resident Killer whales and not be directly in front of their direction of travel but rather alongside the group. These whales had been in this area for some time and everyone was well aware of that. Every boat on the water has had close run ins with whales and been closer than we are supposed to be, it just happens. But it is important that those are rare occurrences where there really is nothing else for the boats to do but shut down and let the whales pass. The picture of this Killer whale is absolutely stunning but having witnessed how it was taken and how the captain claims he got the image is where my problem is. They were not floating around having lunch, he and the other I35s did not come out of nowhere, and it was 100% avoidable. The Naiad Explorer, Ocean Magic II, personal vessels, and Kayakers seen in the background all managed to maintain proper and respectful distances #WhaleWise #WhaleWatching https://www.instagram.com/p/B3IPNt-Ilme/?igshid=13tgvs67xtmtq

Credit ©️ 🎞 ✅ @jordangatto The T90s crossing Blackney Passage. T90D, T90B "Piglet", T90 "Eagle", T90C "Tigger" (from left to right) . . #Orca #KillerWhale #Blackfish #Dolphin #Whale #Cetacean #BroughtonArchipelago #VancouverIsland #BiggsAreTheBalance #BiggsKillerWhale #GoNorthIsland #ShareTheCoast #JohnstoneStrait #TelegraphCove #BC #PNW #MarineLife #Nature #Conservation #WildLife #AnimalLovers #Orcaholic #Aquaholic #Beautiful #WhaleWatching #EcoTourism #WhaleWise #BeautifulBritishColumbia #ExploreBCLater #BucketList https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYdXjyhWdP/?igshid=r18z35gadra3