Chapter 11
ELEVEN
“I s it true some of them wear salmon hats on their heads?” Maddy asked, phone in hand, ready to document their voyage.
Blaine grinned. Her nerdiness was endearing. “Salmon hats?”
“No, seriously, I read an article about it last week.”
“She’s absolutely right,” Xanthe said. “It was a behavior first noted in this region by one of my predecessors back in the eighties. Some of our Southern Resident orcas were spotted balancing salmon on their heads.”
“Live salmon?” Blaine asked, trying to imagine it, and why. How did they keep them on?
“Dead salmon. The behavior wasn’t recorded again for decades, and then we spotted some individuals exhibiting it again last year.”
That was crazy. “Why do they do it?”
“We’re not sure, but it could be a form of play or to teach hunting strategy to the calves.”
“Or maybe they’re saving them for leftovers.”
Her silver gaze settled on him, unamused. “That’s one plausible theory, yes.”
He’d meant it as a joke, but okay, she clearly thought as much of his sense of humor as the rest of him. “I thought they were endangered due to low salmon stocks.”
“They are. But the fish stock numbers fluctuate from year to year, depending on conditions, fishery management, commercial fishing quotas, pollution, weather conditions, ocean acidity… There are a lot of factors that affect salmon numbers.”
Lachlan steered them out of the harbor. High up on the hill, the whalebone arch that had given the town its name stood silhouetted against the sky. The wind picked up the instant they left the shelter of the harbor, kicking up little waves.
“We’re going to head up the west side of the island, then over toward the San Juans and through some channels unless we get a verified sighting on Nootka and he’s within range for us to check out. Any other questions before Lachlan opens up the throttle?”
“No,” Maddy said, grinning, her cheeks pink. “Let’s do this.”
Xanthe grinned back, signaled Lachlan, and the engines roared to life.
They skimmed across the water at a pace that had a smile breaking over his face and brought the adrenaline junkie in him to life.
The cool wind whipped over them, almost stealing his breath while the shoreline grew less distinct in the distance.
They passed the lighthouse and old Coast Guard station on the way out.
While taking in the breathtaking scenery, his gaze kept straying back to Xanthe, poised in the bow in her bright orange flotation suit.
Her attention stayed on the water, her short cap of dark hair blowing in the wind.
She looked so at ease there. Utterly confident, in her element.
There was something proud about her, along with an elemental wildness that called to him on a primal level.
He forced his gaze away, focused on Maddy. She looked like she was having the time of her life, face glowing, blue eyes bright. Yeah, he’d made the right call in booking the tour.
They drove for a solid twenty minutes, curving up and around the west side of the island. Blaine leaned over to tap Maddy’s shoulder and point to shore, showing her where his house was located on the cliff facing west.
She grinned, gave him a thumbs up and held up her phone. “Smile.”
He smiled. Waved for the camera while the wind whipped his hair around his face.
They sped past Shipwreck Cove, named after the nineteenth century wrecks lying just offshore. Willow and her dog had found a human leg bone there a few weeks ago.
Signs of civilization faded completely, giving way to rocky cliffs and thick evergreen rainforest. Parallel with a short, rocky beach, the boat slowed. Xanthe turned to look at the pilothouse. Nodded.
“Another vessel reported a pod of orcas heading this way.” She lifted the pair of binos hanging around her neck and looked through them to the northwest. “They’re fast, so keep your eyes peeled. You’ll spot their short, bushy-shaped blows off in the distance at first.”
Lachlan turned them out to sea and eased forward at a slow pace. He and Maddy both swiveled on their seats, looking north-northwest off the port bow.
“There,” Xanthe said a few minutes later, clear excitement in her voice.
Sure enough, puffs of water vapor were visible in the distance.
“They’re headed straight for us.” Xanthe handed them each a pair of binos.
Blaine adjusted his and tightened the focus. “Wow, they really are fast.”
“They’re the apex predator of the oceans. Just one of the reasons I love them so much. Not that I’m biased or anything.”
They were impressive. Effortlessly slicing through the water in a tight formation toward them. Masters of their domain. “How many of them are there?”
Xanthe looked through her binos. “I count eight. We use the dorsal fins and saddle patches to identify individuals. And judging by that big, bent dorsal fin near the front… Yep, that’s Starboard, the big male from K Pod.
It’s our smallest pod. Onyx is their matriarch, and she just had a new calf a few weeks ago.
I don’t see her yet, but keep looking. You’ll see the little baby close to her. ”
“This is so amazing,” Maddy breathed, recording with her phone. “They’re incredible.”
“Yes, they are,” Xanthe said, voice filled with the awe and pride of someone who had dedicated her life to trying to help protect them. “I’ve been doing this for years, and believe me, seeing them never gets old. I still get goosebumps every single time.”
He wondered what other things gave her goosebumps.
“I’m gonna head to port to try and stay alongside them,” Lachlan called out from behind them, “but the law states we have to stay back a thousand yards from Southern Residents.”
Given their size and speed, Blaine was happy to keep his distance. “I heard orcas are sinking boats off Portugal.”
“There have been several reported incidents, but we can’t say the orcas are attacking the boats,” Xanthe said. “It’s believed they’re actually exhibiting playful behavior and curiosity, but their size is damaging the boats.”
“So these ones don’t sink boats?”
“No,” Xanthe answered flatly, still peering through her binos. “But maybe they should start.”
He didn’t miss the edge to her tone.
“Feel free to get up and move around.” She pulled out her phone, started typing something.
The whales turned toward them. Lachlan cut the engines and drifted.
Maddy got up, stood next to the port-side tube as she looked through her binos. “Hey, I think one of them has something on its head.”
“Is it a salmon hat?” he joked.
Xanthe put her phone away and raised her own binos as Blaine focused on the pod. They were close now, maybe five hundred yards away.
“Oh, shit, no ,” Xanthe breathed.
Blaine looked at her sharply, her shocked, almost devastated tone putting him instantly on edge.
“Make that seventy-three Southern Residents.”
What?
Blaine raised his binos and looked toward the pod. Saw one whale carrying something on its head. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Onyx. And that’s not a dead salmon she’s carrying on her head.” Xanthe’s voice caught, her expression haunted. “It’s her dead calf.”