Transient Orca Whales Make A Killing

Yesterday the transient orca whales were in the vicinity. I heard from a naturalist that they were killing and eating a seal.
It is FINALLY, maybe, going to be spring. High 60's yesterday. Warm, but foggy today.
Should be nice Friday and Saturday.
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Two Transient Orca Whales Today

No Rain. Blue Sky. With a nip in the air. Off we went with guests from Denmark, Australia, Chicago and Seattle into Canadian waters near Cordova Bay. When we came on scene there were two transient orca whales. We thought it looked as if they had just killed a harbor seal and were eating what was left of it. That was at about 1400. They stayed in that area for at least half an hour, the time we were there. Usually transients are busy traveling. Near our boat, a small (probably immature) harbor seal popped up-an appetizer to a transient killer whale. We also saw numerous, the usual non indigenous, sheep and deer that inhabit Speiden Island and there was an immature bald eagle perched right on the ledge close to the water. We had some great looks at it. Two Stellar Sea Lion were seen on our trip today also, both were solo.

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Transient Orca Kill

The following video was sent in to us by our guest Thijs Bekkers. He went out on the MV Sea Lion on Sunday, September 14. The video is of the T18s killing a Harbor Seal near Yellow Island in San Juan Channel. Enjoy! (Don't worry, it's not bloody.)

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=rrNwGnBoFK8

Close Encounters of the Cultural Kind

Photo Below: Male orca taken by Christophe Paulbert from the Sea Lion this summer.

Today was probably one of the best opportunities for our guests to see the difference between Residents and Transients and what happens when they're in close quarters.

We left today out of Friday Harbor heading up San Juan Channel toward members of J, K, and L pods. However, we turned around when word surfaced that some L Pod members were near Fisherman's Bay on Lopez Island. We decided to head to them and encountered the L4s along with who we believe were members of the L21s. The animals were tightly grouped and backlit, which made a positive ID difficult. They appeared to be milling around and socializing until they decided to move up San Juan Channel and possibly toward the northern group we heard about earlier. However, we got word shortly after this behavior change that Transients were in Griffin Bay, just a few miles south of us! Upon further investigation, we found it was the T18s. They also made their way up San Juan Channel in the same direction as the Residents!

We were really able to observe the differences between the two cultures. We saw how they travel differently in different sized groups and in different patterns all together. We could see the physical differences in dorsal fins and saddle patches as well as different hunting techniques. Throughout most of our encounter the Residents and the Transients were roughly 1/4 mile apart!!! However, they were never in physical contact that we could see. In fact, they appeared to mostly ignore each other. We stayed with the Ts for the second half of the trip and ended our encounter with a nice Harbor Seal kill near Yellow Island... again Transients showing us just how different they are.

The weather was great and the whales were spectacular! We still have spots available for tomorrow's trip. Call for a reservation!

Megan Young, Naturalist

A Long Way Gone

We made it! We got to the orcas after 26 nautical miles ONE WAY nearly to Port Angeles, WA. We encountered the T46s and T30A just outside Port Angeles and boy was it an adventure! Not only did we travel far to get to them, but when we arrived on scene we witnessed a kill.

As said in previous blogs, the Transients are a different culture of orcas and eat marine mammals as opposed to fish, like our Residents. We believe the animal they pursued and ate together was a porpoise. Chatter on the radio was that there was a rib cage and lungs floating in the area and the research vessel on site was scooping them up for analysis. It would be interesting to learn the toxin levels in the animal they consumed because the Transients have some of the highest toxin levels exhibited in examined marine mammals. Learning about what affects lower animals on the food chain will give us better insight into how to help our declining orca population.

After the porpoise kill, the Ts took their time playing, spy hopping, and rolling around each other. They definently seemed content with their meal. Again, this was another long trip, but the orcas were well worth it. Today was a true exhibit of the circle of life: the death of a porpoise and a relatively new orca calf in T46B2.

Megan Young, Naturalist