With J, K, & L Pods Away, the Transients Came Into the San Juan Islands!

(Photograph of T20, borrowed from the Center for Whale Research website, taken by Mark Malleson - http://www.whaleresearch.com/thecenter/2008_Sightings_2008_0416_T20_T21.html)

Having heard word that that our beloved Southern Resident Community had headed out of our reach, the day could have ended with no orca sightings. But lo and behold, some of the transient orcas had been spotted in the islands. The Southern Resident Community are the orcas people generally think about when they hear about orcas in the San Juan Islands. This group of orcas is made up of three pods, J, K, and L Pod. Some or all members are in the area frequently between April until October, hunting for salmon. During the summer months, the resident community eats a diet of 100% salmon. Today, we did not spot these orcas. Instead, we had the opportunity to see a group of transients, which we see much less frequently in the area. Transient orcas eat marine mammals. They will eat harbor seals, porpoises, whales, and even Great White Sharks.

Captain Mike, naturalist Megan, our guests, and I headed up towards Matia Island to check out a group of seven transient orcas. When we first approached the orcas and other whale watch boats, we could spot T20 in the distance. T20, a male transient orca in his forties, was travelling with six female transients. The T20's (a family group of transients that tend to travel together - T20, T21, and T22) have a interesting story connected to J Pod, one of the three resident pods we see in the islands. Typically, the resident orcas and transient orcas tend to either ignore each other (acting as though they don't notice), or the transients will actively avoid the resident community. No cases of any other kinds of interaction between the two groups was documented until 1993, when 10 J Pod members were spotted off the coast of Descano Bay charging at high speed toward the bay and toward T20, T21, and T22. These three orcas were fleeing from the J Pod members. After the encounter ended, the J Pod members involved in the incident met up with J17 and her newborn calf, J28. This interaction could possibly have been related to the calf, because transients are marine mammal hunters and J Pod could have considered them a potential threat to young J28. However, the exact reason for this apparent attack is unknown. Encounters like this may be related to the transients avoidance of the Southern Resident community.

We had some excellent views of the seven transients surfacing as a tight-knit group. They would surface together and take about three breaths each, then go under for about five to seven minutes at a time. Today was my first encounter with any transients orcas, so I was especially excited to see this group today.

(The Transient/J Pod story was summarized from a depiction of the encounter in Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales by John B. Ford & Graeme M. Falls.)

Ashley, Naturalist