[caption id="attachment_1217" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="T137A Spyhops to take a look at whale watchers after hunting with his family"]
This Saturday we got a lovely break in the infamous spring rains of Washington and also a lovely visit by a transient killer whale family. The Sea Lion went south out of Friday Harbor with Capt. Mike, Naturalist Kev, and myself to head for some reports of Transient Killer Whales hunting in the area. Transient Killer Whales are a little different than the worldwide famous Southern Resident Killer whales. They hunt in smaller family groups, and also have a completely different diet. These ferocious predators like to hunt a little higher on the food chain than their fish eating relatives – the residents, so they are seen in and around the islands throughout the whole year hunting marine mammals, and they definitely have a lot to choose from. Harbor Porpoises, Dall’s Porpoises, Minke Whales (Yes, even other whales!), Steller’s Sea Lion, California Sea Lions, and Harbor Seals galore. Saturday we found them so near to Friday Harbor, that it was only a ten minute trip to where they were actively hunting. It’s pretty amazing to have them so close to where we live but not too much of a surprise since we found them circling the rocks that a lot of Harbor Seals love to rest on! The T137s were definitely here to hunt. They constantly switched directions and were splitting and rejoining their 4-orca family group to herd, trap, and catch their next prey – a Harbor Seal.
This particular transient orca family, the T137’s, currently consists of four killer whales: T137, T137A, T137B, and T137D. T137 is the matriarch and the mother to all of these other whales. Killer Whales are matrilineal, and the oldest female is the leader of the group! Her sons will stay with her as long as she is alive, and her daughters will stay until they start their own family groups.
It was awe inspiring to see this family group work so close together to hunt through the complicated and ever-moving underwater world surrounding the San Juan Islands. The mother, T137, and the enormous oldest male, T137A did most of the work, but the two younger whales assisted in order to go through the learning process of knowing what and how to hunt. We followed this family for more than an hour as they captured and ate several Harbor Seals and porpoises, one after the other during an hour and a half long feast. They soon seemed to have had their fill - for the moment – so they started to play and relax a little around our boat. It was sensational to see and hear the breathing from their spouts in front of the misty backdrop of the beautiful San Juan Islands. Then, they began rolling and playing in front of us! It was super cute to see the youngest, a three year old calf, playing with his huge, older brother and mother! As if it couldn’t get any better, after their celebratory rolls, spins and bubbles, T137A popped up his head above the water to take a good look back at us! I thought he was huge before, but seeing him spyhop and reveal half of his body really made his size sink in. Killer Whales are very intelligent and curious and occasionally they want to take a look back at us and see what’s happening on the other end of the whale watch.
San Juan Outfitters
Naturalist Erick
M/V Sea Lion
- T137A rolls while hunting a Harbor Seal
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