EncDate:23/01/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#*:6

ObservBegin:01:37 PM

ObservEnd:03:00 PM

Vessel:New Research Vessel (stay tuned for the official naming)

Staff:Michael Weiss, Katie Jones

Pods:Bigg's killer whales

LocationDescr:Haro Strait

Start Latitude:48 32.89

Start Longitude:123 10.51

End Latitude:48 37.19

End Longitude:123 11.32

 

EncSummary:

Michael had received reports from Lodie and Mark that a group of Bigg's killer whales, composed of the T18s along with T60D and T60E were off of Eagle Point, and were likely headed up island. Michael and Katie left the dock at 13:30 and headed down island.

Within a few minutes, they saw a large fin just north of Andrew's Bay, which they both immediately recognized as T19B. He was initially milling, but as they approached he began moving north. T19B took a few very long dives as he made his way north, making it hard to pace him. On his third sequence, he surfaced well ahead and inshore of the team, now accompanied by T19.

The team caught up with the whales as they passed in front of Mitchell Bay. The whales angled towards Kellet Bluff, and after a long dive came up chasing a prey item well ahead of the team. By the time Michael and Katie caught up with them, they had already made their kill, with blood visible at the surface. The two whales milled for several minutes, processing their kill, which we believe to have been a harbor seal. Lots of birds joined in to scavenge, including two bald eagles, one of which attempted to fly away with a long piece of intestine.

T19 and T19B started moving north again, and Katie spotted two more whales quickly making their way north from further down island. As the other two were catching up quickly, the team stuck with T19 and T19B as they moved slowly and predictably towards Kellet Bluff before going on a long dive.

The team moved back towards the two trailing whales, which sure enough were T18 and T19C. These two moved quickly, apparently trying to catch up with the two leaders. The team paralleled them along the Henry Island shoreline until they caught up with the two leaders, at which point the whales spread out and angled towards Battleship. The team watched as the whales angled east, moving through the kelp on the south side of Battleship.

At 15:00 Michael and Katie decided to backtrack to the south, looking for T60D and T60E. They searched down the west side towards San Juan County Park, but did not have any luck spotting the two whales. With rain on the horizon, the team decided to pack it in and head back to the dock.

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Photos taken under Federal Permits

NMFS PERMIT: 27038/ DFO SARA 388