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© 2002 - Taken on my first orca watch
I have been asked why I am so passionate about getting Lolita back to Puget Sound. It is a journey that I have been on for quite some time.
In 2002, I lived in New York City. Friends in Seattle suggested that I come out to Washington for vacation that summer. While making plans, they asked me if there was anything that I wanted to do while I was in Washington. My only request was to see the orcas in their natural home.
We went to Orcas Island for a few days and made arrangements to go orca watching. The day we went the captain said that he couldn't promise we would see them and showing me the map said, "They are here, we are here, and they are not moving." My heart sank as I had waited over 25 years for this, but I decided to go anyway.
We were out at sea about an hour and a half when the captain called to me. He handed me his binoculars and said, “Here, I want you to see them first”. I looked through the binoculars and could see orcas up ahead! It was amazing! He said it was J pod. When we got closer, he cut the engines and we were drifting. I was looking in every direction and taking photos.
L41 - Mega Taken August 13, 2006 - © Carole May
Then, all of a sudden, there were more orcas around us. The captain said that K and L pods had joined us, and we had what he called “superpod”. Back in those days, I had no idea what all this meant, but I was having a great time enjoying these wonderful creatures.
At one point, he called me to the starboard side of the boat and said, “Come here, I don’t want you to miss this!” There were orcas every where I looked; even coming up to the boat and seemingly using us as a bathtub toy as they dove underneath the boat coming up on the other side! As I watched them, I saw a male orca with a huge dorsal fin, who I later learned was L41, coming straight at the boat. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up at me and I down at him. There is nothing on this planet that compares to looking into the eye of an orca. Nor is there anything that compares to the sound they make as they surface to breathe. I can't even begin to describe my feelings, but looking back, I realize that on that day I fell in love.
I returned home to NYC, and two weeks later I made the decision to move to Washington. I left my teaching job at the end of the school year, packed my car, and drove across the country. I made a lot of plans, which, for whatever reason the universe had, did not quite go as I had envisioned. I was forced for health reasons to retire, but as time passed, I regained some of my energy and found myself called to my photography.
Look At Me!!!!
J45 learning to breach in the twilight at Lime Kiln Park
© 2009 - Carole May
I acquired a digital camera and zoom telephoto lens, and discovered that an orca watching boat went out from Anacortes. I went and once again experienced that feeling that I'd had while in WA on vacation. And once again, my friend L41 came up and visited the boat. This time he was with L43 and the two of them were having a wonderful time! When I got back home and reviewed my photos, I was elated! For me, there is nothing that comes close to spending time with these amazing creatures. I love photographing them and showing their interaction with each other and their surroundings. My favorite moment thus far was watching a mother teaching her calf how to breach. She would breach a couple of times, and then he would try it. It was so precious seeing him learn at her side.
I have recently completed all of the requirements of the Marine Naturalist course at The Whale Museum and am now a certified marine naturalist. When I first graduated, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my new knowledge. I realized that I could share it through writing and hopefully change the hearts of those who think it is acceptable to keep marine mammals in captivity. Orcas belong in the sea to swim free with their families, not in a tank performing circus tricks.
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"There are always those souls who, from the time of their first encounter, are hopelessly devoted to a specific type or group of animals. It is almost as if, from then on, they have become one of these animals in some way. Usually such people end up giving up everything to study and be with their animals through art or science or both . . . Individuals destined to a life devoted to their totem animal from then on. A species that has infiltrated their core, dominated their dreams, and keeps them uneasy except when they are in their presence . . . and her totem is undeniably the orca." Although the above was written about Monika, it could have been written about me as well. |
Comments
Nice article Carole, these Orcas do permeate every cell of your being once you come in contact with them. One is never quite the same again. And the after glow of a encounter lasts for weeks - their energy is HUGE. And it's not just the orcas - it's cetaceans - Whales, dolphins as well as our beloved Orcas - what an incredible environment we live in here in the Great Northwest. What a precious gift these amazing cetaceans have to give us. If we open our hearts to them , major shifts are possible for each and every human being on the planet :o)
Thanks for loving them so much that you have dedicated what you are doing to make a difference - you have an Orca heart!
This is the best thing you've ever written, Carole. Superb! Tears in my eyes because it is so beautiful.
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