killer whales

On February 11, 2012, L112 a 3 year old Southern Resident Killer Whale was found stranded on the shores of Long Beach Washington.  L112, more lovingly referred to as Sooke, was the daughter of L86 Surprise!.  After two years of debate and research,  it has been concluded that Sooke died of a massive blunt force trauma to the head and neck.  It was proposed that sonar and explosives  were the cause of death as the Canadian Navy confirmed they were doing testing off...

Had a great tour yesterday with a family willing the brave the cool and damp weather. We ran a circuit in North Haro Strait around Kelp Reef, Henry Island, Stuart Island, and Speiden Island. We were hoping to encounter a group of Transient Killer Whales (marine mammal eating) that have been sighted frequently in the area. Weather conditions made visibility greater than a mile difficult. We did not see any whales, but did find large groups of Harbor Porpoise in Speiden...

Our Southern Residents continue to be seen in the northern part of Puget Sound (Port Townsend, South Whidbey Island). Both J-pod and K-pod have been spotted between the 16th and 18th (when the new calf was first reported in J-pod).

There have also been lots of Transient (marine mammal diet) Killer Whales in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. On December 21st, several Transients were spotted off the west side of San Juan Island, and later in the Kelp Reef area.

J-pod was observed on the west side of San Juan Island in the past half hour. They were first spotted (most recently) on Saturday in the strait of Juan de Fuca eastbound (towards the San Juan Islands). Hopefully this means they are around for the spring/early summer now.
For those who are familiar with the Lime Kiln hydrophone, apparently vocalizations have been heard today.

Transient Killer Whales Spotted again this afternoon on the west side of San Juan Island! This will be 8 days in a row transients have been sited in the area.

A quick blog to update our guests on whale sightings. We've been out on the water quite a bit recently and have seen whales 3 of the last 4 trips, which is a very good streak in April, especially considering our Resident Killer Whales have not been around in over a month. This means our sightings have been with Transient Killer Whales. For those new to the distinction between the two types: Our Resident Killer Whales primarily eat salmon, while Transient Killer Whales...

Many photos were taken recently of the Killer Whales spotted in Admiralty Inlet over the weekend. Almost all of J-pod were spotted, as well as L-87 who has been traveling with J-pod quite a bit the past couple years. Unfortunately the whale missing this weekend was J-1, and it's been confirmed by the Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb that he has not been seen since November. For those who are new to the life cycle, family and social structure of the...

Killer Whale sightings continue to occur in the San Juan Islands and outlying areas. After having gone without sightings for a few days, J-pod (and L-87) were once again spotted in Admiralty inlet. If their pattern holds, Whidbey Island and Seattle residents may be treated to whale sightings along public beaches and parks. Keep your eyes open as you travel to and from home today along the water.

Very exciting news reported by Orca Network. L-pod was recently spotted off Monterey Bay (February 10th), and then spotted later off San Francisco. Local San Juan Island researchers were present to get a positive identification. For those who are not familiar, this region is now considered part of L-pod's normal winter range, and the river systems and coastline play a critical role in their winter habitat. More information can be found at Orca Network for those who...

A local west side resident "heard" transient Killer Whale vocalizations on Sunday and confirmed transients off the West Side of San Juan Island headed towards Victoria. This put them in line with Kelp Reef and Dangerous Shoal, which is where I often see Transients hunting Dalls Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, and Stellar Sea Lions. The Transients were later identified as the T-30's. Lot of Killer Whale sightings recently. Great news for our ecosystem.