Photo: Island Adventures Whale Watching

Naturalist Sam Murphy of Island Adventures Whale Watching captured the deer and whale swimming together on June 4, 2023.

A naturalist captured an unexpected encounter in the San Juan Islands this weekend.

Sam Murphy, a naturalist with Island Adventures Whale Watching, was photographing an orca swimming near the Canada-United States border on Sunday when she captured a strange sight.

Murphy had spotted a whale called T124C, also known as 'Cooper,' swimming near Battleship Island near Sidney Island. But it turns out he wasn't alone.

It wasn't until Murphy got home and was reviewing her images that she noticed Cooper swimming by a deer with its head bobbing out of the water.

"The whale didn't show any interest,” said Pacific Whale Watch Association executive director Erin Gless, who noted that Cooper is a male Bigg's killer whale who was born in 1992.

"There likely isn't enough meat or fat on this deer's bones to tempt the local Bigg's killer whales who are used to feasting on chunky seals and sea lions," Gless added.

Photo: Island Adventures Whale Watching