01
AS I SAT POISED on the edge of the small
inflatable panga anxiously waiting to slide into
the water for the first time, my buddy Albert
nervously asked, “Is it safe to go in the water with
them?” This was the first time I had consciously
considered the safety aspect of entering the
waters of Darwin Island in the Galápagos with
the largest of the oceanic dolphin family, not to
mention top of the food chain apex predators,
killer whales (Orcinus orca).
We had been circling in the panga, watching
the orcas swim directly under us and surface
within arm’s reach. Then, to our amazement,
there followed two spectacular, gravity-defying
tail slaps, where the rear half of the orca came
completely out of the water before splashing