Orca visits Boaters caught on camera

PUGET SOUND, Wash. (KION) Boaters in Saratoga Passage received a warm welcome from a 17-year-old male orca on Tuesday.

The boaters, Dirk Morgan and Deb Syna, shared that moment caught on camera with the Orca Network. The video shows the whale staying against the side of the boat, then he circles all the way around, returning to the same spot. At one point, the whale is seen pushing the boat for some time before disappearing.

According to the Orca Network, this is a Bigg's transient orca, which will sometimes approach the vessels out of curiosity or when they are hunting prey who hides underneath the boat. However, Syna took notes of the encounter, and the Orca Network called what she wrote "unusual behavior."

“After the encounter, he followed us for about 20 minutes in deeper water. I stayed in the shallows, not wanting a second close encounter," Syna wrote. "He played with the boat for about 10 minutes, going under and rocking, then pushing and then spinning us before he swam off."

The Orca Network said that both Morgan and Syna “conducted themselves with immense composure and grace, and did everything correctly" when the orca approached their boat.