EncDate:08/07/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:68

ObservBegin:11:15 AM

ObservEnd:04:37 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Other Vessel:

Staff:Dave Ellifrit, Mark Malleson

Other Observers:Joe Zelwietro

Pods:J, K, L

LocationDescr:west of Swiftsure Bank

Start Latitude:48 29.92

Start Longitude:125 12.32

End Latitude:48 29.97

End Longitude:125 03.64

 

EncSummary:

After documenting all of the Southern Resident killer whales the day prior, Mark, Dave and Joe were looking forward to finding out if all were present in the same area, and whether all members were still present or if perhaps some had vacated the area in search of greener pastures. They headed offshore and soon found killer whales, just three nautical miles from where they were left the day before.
Once again, the first two individuals photographed were L83 and L110! They were travelling ahead of but near the K20s and L86s, young K45 and L125 playfully trailing behind their respective mothers. K38 and L106 also shadowed the matriarchs, though not together. It was interesting watching the two lines interact, as both are three-animal families composed of mothers with elder sons and young daughters born 14-15 years later.
As they had later the day prior, as well as frequently during last year’s survey, the spread of whales seemed to be foraging hard in an area for anywhere from 10-30 minutes before charging off in a different direction. Intermittent courtship behaviour was also observed.
After an hour of shadowing members of K pod and the so-called “18 Ls”, the team finally detected some J pod whales along the southwestern edge of the spread, beginning with J31 and J56 foraging near L116. J38 was observed shortly thereafter, shadowing J39 as the younger whale chased down and courted L118 for a few moments. After some excitement above and below the surface, the two parted ways and J39 returned to some nearby J pod members.
The guys wrapped up the encounter after watching several members of J pod capture and perhaps share some prey, before returning to port to rest up for the final day of a so far successful survey.
No members of either the L12 or L54 subgroups were observed; it is possible that they were not present with the large group the Center’s team observed this day, or that they were present somewhere on the periphery of the group. There were also very few J pod whales photographed, and not all of the 18 Ls or K pod were seen either, due to the several square mile spread and sometimes erratic travel patterns of the group as a whole.