EncDate:05/10/24 

EncSeq:1

Enc#:99

ObservBegin:12:22 PM

ObservEnd:01:23 PM

Vessel:Mike 1

Staff:Mark Malleson

Pods:K, L

LocationDescr:Swiftsure Bank

Start Latitude:48 31.17

Start Longitude:124 51.07

End Latitude:48 31.58

End Longitude:124 52.01

 

EncSummary:

Mark left Victoria harbour aboard Mike 1 at 0745 to survey the waters of the Juan de Fuca Strait. With Beaufort 0 conditions, he paused east of Race Rocks to scan and listen for blows. With the still air and calm water, he could hear and spot numerous humpback whales feeding nearby. He even heard a group of foraging Steller sea lions breathing half a mile away, briefly mistaking the sounds for a small group of killer whales. With no sign of killer whales, he pushed south of Race Rocks, heading westward out of the Juan de Fuca Strait.

After making several stops to scan with his Swarovski binoculars, Mark eventually encountered a large aggregation of humpback whales north of Clallam Bay on the American side of the Strait. At 1115, while opportunistically photographing humpback whale flukes and keeping a sharp lookout for distant killer whale dorsal fins, he received a report that Southern Resident killer whales had been spotted near Swiftsure Bank—26 miles from his current location. The ideal conditions persuaded Mark to make the trek. With J pod reported in Admiralty Inlet earlier that morning, he hoped to find L90 and her new calf, L128, reunited with the rest of the clan out west.

At 1222, as Mark approached the eastern edge of Swiftsure Bank, he spotted his first dorsal fin amidst the flurry of seabirds and humpback whales. The first whale he identified was K16, followed by her 22-year-old son, K35. They were actively foraging, and Mark could see many more whales scattered across the area. As he continued to photograph the whales, he identified K14, K22, and the distinctive, large-finned and open-saddled K20 alongside her youngest, K45. Then, he noticed a group of five or six individuals approaching, with a very small calf tucked alongside them.

Initially, Mark assumed it was L90 with L128. But upon closer examination of his photos, he realized it was L83 with a small, emaciated calf. Just a couple of weeks earlier, CWR staff had photographed L90’s newborn off the west side of San Juan Island, but this calf looked far from healthy. Rather, the calf appeared lumpy and skinny. Mark quickly sent pictures of the calf’s right eye patch to Dave and Michael, and they eventually confirmed the troubling reality: it was indeed an emaciated L128.

L90 was nearby, foraging, as L83 approached Mike 1 with the emaciated calf draped across her rostrum. As she carried the calf down the side of the boat, Mark’s heart sank—he was certain the calf had stopped breathing. L83 jiggled the calf, as if desperately trying to revive it. As she continued past the stern of Mike 1, Mark thought he saw the calf take a faint breath and return to her side. Emotionally drained from the sighting, Mark decided at 1323 that it was time to end the encounter and make the ~60-nautical-mile journey back to Victoria Harbour.

 

L128 Update:

New calf L128 was documented by researchers from CWR, SR3, OBI, Wild Orca, NOAA, Soundwatch, and SeaDoc Society over multiple days starting on 9/15/2024. CWR did not note anything obviously wrong with either mother or calf based on behavior and gross physical state during their two brief encounters with them. SR3's quantitative photogrammetry categorized L90 as being in "normal" body condition (within the middle 40th-60th percentile) for a female SRKW of her age at this time of year, but did raise concerns about how small and young the calf clearly was (https://www.sealifer3.org/news/hot-off-the-camera).

The photographs that Mark acquired showed an obvious decline, with the shape of the skull clearly visible in several photographs. The behavior he describes and documented is also concerning, with the calf remaining limp for long periods of time while being pushed by L83. It's unclear why the calf was with L83 rather than L90.

CWR researchers were back out west the next day (Encounter #100) with Ks and Ls, however L83, L90, and L128 were not located in the large spread of whales. We therefore are not yet categorizing L128 as missing or deceased; more data is needed to confirm this young whale's fate. This population needs every new addition it can get, and the loss of a calf is always tragic. For L90 in particular, the loss of her first documented live-born calf would be a major blow.