Boaters witness epic orca hunt and rescue a seal in Puget Sound

A gaggle of associates out boating received the joys of a lifetime when their tour became one thing you’d solely see on a nature documentary.

They did not simply witness an epic orca hunt, they grew to become part of it when their boat grew to become a secure haven for one terrified seal.

The boaters had been whale-wise and did their half in retaining a secure distance and turning off the engine when the motion headed their means. Best of all, the group had a proficient photographer on board who captured the entire expertise.

Charvet Drucker, Smith Siromaskul and Terese DeBoer Drummond had been boating in Saratoga Passage off Camano Island on Sunday, Nov. 2 after they noticed Bigg’s orcas. These killer whales are transient and roam from Alaska to Northern California, consuming marine mammals like seals and porpoises. The Bigg’s inhabitants is estimated at round 380 killer whales, in accordance with the Pacific Whale Watch Association, in contrast to the Southern Resident orca inhabitants, whose numbers have dwindled to underneath 75 and primarily feed on Chinook salmon.

Drucker described the entire encounter on KOMO’s #SoNorthwest Photography page on Facebook. Here’s what occurred, in her personal phrases:

“I can’t even believe I get to write/post this! The most insane thing happened to us on Sunday in Saratoga Passage off of Camano with some Biggs Orcas.”

Drucker continues, “We were out on the boat watching some orcas, about 300-400 yards away from them, when the hunt began, when we noticed the seal they were chasing heading straight at us. At that point, we shut the boat off completely to wait to see where they all decided to go. Well.. the seal decided to jump onto the boat for safety.”

Watch and share the encounter on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook:

Drucker provides, “The orcas definitely tried to find it, but gave up after about 15 minutes or so. Once the orcas left, we turned on the boat and slowly made our way closer to shore, with the seal aboard, to get it to a safer location. Once we got closer to shore, the seal decided it felt safe enough to leave the boat and jumped off on its own accord.”

A contented ending for this seal, and a whale of a story they’re going to always remember for the trio of associates on board.

Our due to Charvet and associates for sharing this superb PNW expertise!

See extra of Charvet Drucker’s wildlife adventures on Instagram and TikTok.