#m007

Adult male Max (M007) near Marion Island last month (July 2017)

Max (M007) with Marion Island (top left in image) and Prince Edward Island (top right in the image) in the scene. Note the abundance of kelp in the inshore waters - a critical part of this ecosystem and one that plays a role in killer whale ecology.

Big boy M007 ‘Max" porposing offshore.

It’s always beautiful to see orcas that make the different behaviors in their natural habitat,especially when they’re big bulls like Max!

A surprising number of killer whales visit Marion Island through the course of the annual cycle with specific peaks in occurrence at the island during austral spring and summer (October - December) and a smaller peak again during the austral autumn (March - May). Approximately 60 individual animals are catalogued and about half being regularly resighted at Marion Island. A handful of the animals catalogued for Marion Island have also been sighted at neighbouring Îles Crozet (~950km due east). The population at Marion Island seems healthy with the birth of several calves during the past five years. Continued photo-identification work is focussed on delivering data with which to perform detailed demographic and social interaction analyses in years to come.

Just.. Mallory and Emma's kids xD?