Nanoose Bay residents Michelle Wigmore and her husband had a whale of a time in Desolation Sound Marine Park on Friday, August 14. Not only were they visited by a few orcas up close, but they even saved a seal from certain death, albeit unintentionally.
“People were gathered in an area and we thought there might be whales in that direction, so we headed over there to see if we could see them from an appropriate distance,” she explained. “Once we saw them coming closer we shut the engines off to our boat, as we always do, but we didn’t expect what happened.
“I spotted some agitation in the water closer to our boat, at the same time as the orcas, and I said to my husband, ‘I wonder if it’s that seal?’ No sooner had I said it, the seal leapt up into our tender and then the orcas started to circle around it.”
The Wigmores filmed the event from their boat, knowing the animal’s fate would likely be sealed if it jumped back off. That footage has since made the rounds on national television news casts. Instead, the animal took a nap until the orcas eventually gave up.
“Being in the middle of a hunt, that’s not our intention, nor would we ever want to do that,” said Wigmore. “We were relieved we didn’t have to see the harsh reality of nature, but we understand, too, that this is how orcas survive. But I have to say, we were rooting for the seal and we were thankful that the seal at least had some refuge.”
The Wigmores are frequent visitors to Desolation Sound on their boat, the aptly named Plum Lucky.
