EncDate:06/10/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:100

ObservBegin:10:48 PM

ObservEnd:12:21 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Joe Zelwietro

Pods:K, L

LocationDescr:Swiftsure Bank

Start Latitude:48 30.63

Start Longitude:124 41.55

End Latitude:48 31.58

End Longitude:124 51.60

 

EncSummary:

After Mark’s encounter with members of K and L pod the previous day, he and Joe were eager to take advantage of a rare perfect weather day in the Juan de Fuca and complete another survey. They departed just after 0800 with a full tank of fuel and Fin in tow.
Their aim was to get back to where Mark had found the foraging animals the day prior, southwest of Port Renfrew; the feed had appeared plentiful and it seemed unlikely the whales would have moved far. Sure enough, as they exited the Juan de Fuca westbound, they spotted several fast-moving whales also travelling west.
The first animal they photographed was mature bull L87, apparently the easternmost whale in the grouping, though he was pacing L22 closely. L72 and L105 were travelling just inshore and ahead of them, trailing a large tight group that appeared to contain much of the rest of L pod. This larger group turned out to be a mix of the L4 and L12 matrilines, suggesting that all of L pod but perhaps the L54s were present. They team spent the next several minutes documenting as many of these animals as they could, including all members of the L12 subgroup – L25 was alone ahead of the others leading the westward charge – and all of the L4s.
Based on the behaviour of the animals and their proximity to the apparently rich feeding area from the day prior, along with the absence of K pod, Mark assumed there may be others ahead. The Mike 1 team eased ahead of the Ls and just a mile and a half beyond them, found several spread members of K pod, apparently foraging.
The quickly travelling Ls arrived shortly and joined the cadre of Ks – and as the team soon found, the L54s and L88. K16 and L88 were foraging together, K35 near. K20 and young K45 were not far from them, foraging near K12, K14, K37, K22 and the hulking K33. L87 appeared now alongside L25, and for the next little while Mark and Joe did their best to document each new individual they could. This was made challenging by the somewhat long/deep sounding dives they observed from the animals, though the incredible number of gulls diving for the scraps made relocating them easier. As a whole, the animals appeared robust, and it was good to see such successful foraging for a sustained period.
They ended the encounter early in the afternoon as the group continued their spread foraging behaviour, and began making way east, back into the Juan de Fuca.
The only members of L pod not observed this day were of the L47 matriline (including L83), from which no whales were photographed, as well as L90 and her calf L128. The assumption is that they were not far, perhaps inshore and behind the earlier photographed animals, and when they reached the feeding grounds became too dispersed for the team to detect them. Mark did photograph several members of the group the day prior, including L83 and L90 alongside the clan’s newest addition (see Encounter #99). J pod was not present, and has been observed in the southern reaches of the Salish Sea over the past week.