EncDate:10/03/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:19

ObservBegin:04:46 PM

ObservEnd:06:49 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Brendon Bissonnette

Pods:L

LocationDescr:South of Sooke

Start Latitude:48 18.58

Start Longitude:123 43.58

End Latitude:48 13.89

End Longitude:123 51.73

 

EncSummary:

Mark received word of a pod of Southern Resident killer whales making their way westward in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at ~ 1430. Thanks to the recent switch in daylight savings time, and the report which indicated the whales were moving at a leisurely pace, there was time to ready Mike 1 and set out for an early evening encounter.

Setting out shortly after 1600, Mark, Fin and Brendon charted a course southwestward into the expansive waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, opting to run along the shoreline before venturing offshore. At 1649, Brendon caught sight of a single dorsal fin to the southwest, signaling the commencement of their encounter approximately 1.5 nm southwest of Secretary Island. The fin was determined to belong to L108, a member of the lesser-seen L54 matriline. As the team approached, L108 carefully pursued a salmon which lasted only a brief time before resuming a course northwestward closer to shore.

Not long after, Mark noticed another whale shadowing L108’s position some distance to the south. Mark repositioned the vessel and the team captured a set of photos, revealing the identity of the whale as L91. Unlike L108’s more leisurely pace, L91 was forging west with greater intent. As L91 slipped past, the team paused for a thorough scan. When the scan did not yield more whales, the team decided to push northwestward along the tracks of L108, hopefully leading to more whales. 

After several minutes on this course, and no sign of additional whales, they turned to the southwest in case the leaders had pushed offshore. Once more, no whales appeared. Mark and Brendon then considered that the two whales they’d seen earlier, both of whom represented separate matrilines, were perhaps neither leaders nor trailers and the rest of the pod might have stalled out many miles to the south, so Mark steered Mike 1 to the southeast. 

True to their persistence, several minutes later, Mark's keen eyes spotted a large bull to the south. The team approached slowly and identified the bull as 31-year old L88. As they observed L88's movements, another fin caught Mark's attention off the port quarter. Brendon recognized the whale as L90, actively in pursuit of a salmon. For several minutes, she gave chase, twisting and turning in pursuit, until another whale, L125, joined in. While L90 continued to remain nearby, she relinquished her pursuit of the salmon to give way to L125, indicating a potential training opportunity for the 3-year-old whale. 

Beyond L90 and L125, two more blows appeared to the south. These whales turned out to be L125’s mother, L86, and her older brother, L106. After taking photos of their right sides, the team stopped and had one final scan in the hopes of locating additional members of the pod. While they could not see more whales in the area, they both took note of L88 splashing north of their position so they decided to investigate. As it would turn out, L88 had also found a salmon! This marked three salmon pursuits in a single encounter, which was a welcomed winter sight. Mike 1 remained with L88 for a few minutes until he had successfully captured the salmon. In the distance, L125 began to breach. 

With daylight waning, and an hour’s drive ahead of them, Mark and Brendon called the encounter to a close at 1849, watching as L88 continued west into the fading light with the spoils of his catch.

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