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Text: Brigitte, photos: firmm

On May 16th, early before the first tour, our captain Dani was contacted by two of his cousins who are tuna fishermen in the Strait of Gibraltar. They had sensational news, which Dani immediately passed on to Katharina. Knowing that they could offer the guests on the first trip a special surprise, the crew set off at 10.30 in good spirits towards the Atlantic, precisely towards the fishermen waiting there.

Regular readers of our blogs and all firmm friends should already have guessed what was waiting for us near the fishing boats: it was indeed the Orcas.

We counted a total of 10 animals, including two or three young ones who were less than a year old. We were particularly pleased to discover two acquaintances among the animals who are very dear to us: the stately male Camorro and the old matriarch. We had been a bit worried about the latter, as we hadn't seen her for three years. Especially Katharina's heart was lifted, as she had known this Orca for so many years.

I asked her after the trip if she could remember in the 25-year history of firmm ever having encountered the Orcas so early in the year. She said no and went on to tell me that she found the trip particularly peaceful and idyllic. Which is especially nice to hear, as the Orcas have unfortunately only received negative headlines lately.

Last year we were missing all the Orcas we know. In fact, there was another group in the Strait of Gibraltar. This time there was one animal that had a small injury (a small nick) behind the dorsal fin. It normally does not belong to the school of Camorro and the matriarch.

Camorro was particularly curious and approached the boat. He even dived three times underneath it. In moments like these, the underwater windows of the firmm Vision are priceless.

Our marine biologist José ran down and was astonished when Camorro's huge body appeared in front of the windows. Impressed, he came back up and marvelled: "That was like watching a bus float by, it's so big. " Only up close can you discern the impressive stature of these animals, their true size.

This is how a trip with an unexpected encounter for this time of year came to an end. The Orcas were probably just going for a spin in our area. In any case, we are already looking forward to seeing them again in the summer.