EncDate:04/07/23 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:34

ObservBegin:07:07 PM

ObservEnd:08:35 PM

Vessel:Orcinus

Other Vessel:

Staff:Michael Weiss

Other Observers:Sara Hysong-Shimazu, Alyssa Kelley, Federica Spina

Pods:J, L

LocationDescr:Haro Strait

Start Latitude:48 35.26

Start Longitude:123 12.32

End Latitude:48 34.83

End Longitude:123 13.48

EncSummary:The team was gathered at Sara's place for fourth of July when reports came in that J pod was on their way down Boundary Pass. The Js had been up in Georgia Strait for a few days while the L12s were on the south side of San Juan Island, and the team was interested in checking in on J36, who looked extremely pregnant last time they observed her on the drone. The team got off the dock at 1858 and quickly found the whales, starting their encounter at 1907 as the whales headed south along the Henry Island shoreline.

The whales were initially fairly spread out and moving quickly. The first whales the team identified were L25 and L85, making it clear that the L12s had met up with J pod north of San Juan Island and were now travelling with them. As they moved south, the whales slowed down and grouped up, becoming much more social. Two to three main groups of mixed L12s and Js began socializing, exhibiting lots of surface active behaviors.

As the team surveyed the groups, it became clear that J36 was not present in these subgroups. The team saw a single whales very far inshore of the main groups, and thought it was likely that this was J36. The team caught up with her near the San Juan shoreline south of Mitchell Bay. J36 took a close pass on Orcinus, allowing the team to get clear photos of her and see that she still did not have a new calf, before peeling off shore and heading for the main group of whales.

The team followed her back out to the main groups. Having met their main objective, the team turned towards documenting the last few whales in the group. Additionally, with all the socializing going on, the team thought they might be able to get a shot of L126 rolling over to confirm the new calf's sex.

L25 and L85 led the way, with the rest of J pod and the L12s mixed up behind them. Groups of young males socialized on the periphery while the females and calves swam together, treadmilling against the flood tide. The team quickly found L119 and L126 and stuck with them for a few minutes. L126 rolled over multiple times, but not at an angle that allowed us to get a sex shot. Finally, while rolling around on his mom's rostrum, L126 rolled at the right angle to let the team confirm that he's a male.

The team let the whales pass them heading south, and then ended the encounter at 2035.

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