EncDate:08/02/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:14

ObservBegin:11:14 AM

ObservEnd:02:07 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Brendon Bissonnette

Pods:Bigg's killer whales

LocationDescr:south west of Ogden Point

Start Latitude:48 23.08

Start Longitude:123 26.11

End Latitude:48 17.33

End Longitude:123 33.76
 

EncSummary:

Upon receiving a report of killer whales near Victoria’s waterfront at 0953, Mark and Brendon convened at the harbour to prepare Mike 1 for departure. They left the dock shortly after and charted a course southward in calm seas.

A tight group of exhalations caught their attention at 1114 slightly south of their position abeam of Albert Head, marking the commencement of the encounter. Brendon identified the whales as the T041s, T109Bs and T002B. This provided a total count of eight whales in light of T109B3's absence. The whales maintained a steady pace of 4 knots while in a resting formation.

By 1127, the pod veered southwestward, setting a course for William Head. Over the course of the next several surfacings, their movements became more dynamic and the group began to weave between inshore and offshore waters, with dive times averaging six minutes. Prior to one of these dives, the team noticed new rake marks on T041A’s left side and T041A3’s dorsal fin.

A noticeable shift in the whales’ behaviour occurred at 1235 when the group surfaced over a mile away, this time split into two distinct groups: the tightly-knit T109Bs heading south, and the more leisurely-paced T041s and T002B aiming southeast. This division persisted for several surfacing sequences; eventually, the groups reunited on a course for Race Rocks, where they arrived at 1331. Here, only two whales, T041A2 and T109B4, ventured into the reserve from the southeast corner and began to engage in close interactions with the harbor seals and Steller sea lions hauled upon the rocky outcrops. Over the course of the next few minutes, the pair of whales worked the shallows back-and-forth along the south side of the reserve. As the Mike 1 crew observed from the water, a group of Pearson College students participating in the Marine Mammals of the Salish Sea program put on by Race Rocks guardian Derek Sterling were able to experience, first hand, Bigg's hunting amongst the reefs on the south side of Great Race. Derek later told Mark that they conveniently were on the Orca component of the course when Mark called to inform him that Bigg's were approaching the south east corner of the reserve!

The hunting endeavours by T041A2 and T109B4 continued for twenty minutes before they departed Race Rocks, their efforts seemingly unsuccessful. Shortly after, they began porpoising towards the other six whales who had continued southwest from the reserve. By 1350, all eight whales had regrouped and were now traversing west. Mike 1 concluded the encounter at 1407, noting that the whales were on a line for Church Rock on Vancouver Island shoreline.

​

​