EncDate:11/04/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:35

ObservBegin:03:19 PM

ObservEnd:04:04 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Brendon Bissonnette

Pods:Bigg's killer whales

LocationDescr:South of Discovery Island

Start Latitude:48 20.83

Start Longitude:123 11.03

End Latitude:48 23.18

End Longitude:123 15.77

 

EncSummary:

With several reports of westbound killer whales in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, Mark and Brendon readied Mike 1 to take advantage of the opportune water conditions and the assortment of whales present. 

They left the dock at Victoria's harbour at ~ 1445 and strategically opted to head towards the northernmost group first, which had been last reported south west of Hein Bank and moving quickly. At 1519, the first group of whales, identified as the T100s minus T100E, came into view ~ 5 nm south southeast of Discovery Island, and the encounter commenced. The T100s are a group of whales that are most often sighted in South east Alaskan waters, which made this an excellent opportunity to capture updated photographs of them.

The matriarch, T100, and her eldest, T100C, were travelling together approximately 250 metres from the youngest, T100F. While both T100 and T100C surfaced regularly and predictably, T100F's surfacings were notably sporadic, often taking on a more unpredictable pattern compared to the other two whales. However, all members of the group were moving swiftly at a pace of 7-8 knots for the majority of the encounter, markedly bypassing multiple opportunities to hunt the abundant harbour porpoises in the area. It was speculated that perhaps their rapid movement might have been in response to the presence of Jpod, which had been spotted to the east earlier in the day, heading in their direction.

Following successful photographs from various angles of the three whales, Mark and Brendon made the decision to conclude the encounter at 1604. Mark then directed the vessel southward, setting sights on a larger aggregation of Bigg’s killer whales further south.

Additional note: at 1745, roughly 1 nautical mile south of the VH Buoy, Mark and Brendon encountered the T100s again as the team made way for Victoria. They observed the trio closely grouped together, traveling in a southwest direction, seemingly on a direct course for Race Rocks.