Orca Encounters Blog - San Juan Orcas

T077's Feast On 7/22/13

7/24/2013

Reports came in of marine mammal eating Transient orcas a few miles South of Iceberg Point, Lopez Island, on the morning of 7/22/13. When the "Odyssey", the San Juan Excursions whale watching boat I work on, departed from Friday Harbor, the orcas were nearing San Juan Channel. We met up with the four whales right as they were entering the channel, which runs between San Juan Island and Lopez Island.

It was the T077 matriline, made up of matriarch T077, born around 1981, with her sprouter son T077B, born in 2000, and her two other offspring T077C, and T077D, who were born in 2006, and 2009. They rode the flooding tide up the channel before stopping at Shark Reef were they ate at least one harbor seal.

The family mills around and splashes as they work together to catch a seal.

T077 tail slaps while celebrating a successful kill.

T077D does an aerial scan.

Blood from a harbor seal can be seen in the water as one of the juveniles rolls on its side, exposing the underside of its tail flukes.

Sprouter male T077B tugs along a string of harbor seal flesh with his dorsal fin.

After finishing their lunch, the family continued up San Juan Channel.

Family portrait.

T077 and her sprouter son T077B exhale, the mist from their blow illuminated in the sunlight.

They ended up escorting us right back to Friday Harbor where our dock is, and milled around the area for a bit like they might have found another seal, but then continued on, and out of view from our dock. It's very rare to watch orcas while docked in the harbor so this was a very special experience!

Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)

K Pod Surfs Choppy Seas On 7/20/13

7/22/2013

While L pod left on the night of 7/19/13, K pod spent the night up at the Fraser River in Canada before coming back down to San Juan Island the next morning. The water was super choppy and the tide was flooding as the orcas fought their way South against the waves and current. Aboard the "Odyssey" of San Juan Excursions, I was able to get some photos of the males of K pod, as they were easier to spot within the waves because of their tall dorsal fins. Scoter K25 breached a few times inshore of us, right off of Lime Kiln State Park, on the West side of San Juan Island while Lobo K26, and Tika K33 surfaced high out of the water to breathe.

Scoter K25, born in 1991, breaches off of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse.

Lobo K26, born in 1993.

Tika K33 literally surfs the waves! He was born in 2001, and is very big for his age.

Tika shows how tall his dorsal fin is already while surfing some waves!

I was able to spot every member from K pod except for Opus K16, Sonata K35, and Cappuccino K21, which is normal because these three orcas that will sometimes split off from K pod and do their own thing. Overnight, K pod left for the open ocean, an indicator that there is not enough Chinook salmon here to sustain them like there once was historically. After we over fished the Chinook here, destroyed/polluted habitat around their spawning rivers and dammed the rivers up, among other things, we hardly left any for the orcas to eat. Hopefully we can all reverse these actions together.

Active L Pod Members On 7/19/13

7/20/2013

All of K pod and everyone from L pod except for the L54, L12, and L22 matrilines returned to area on the night of 7/18/13. Early the next morning they both zoomed up the West side of San Juan Island and were already at Pender Island in Canada soon afterwords. K pod continued North past Saturna Island for the Fraser River while the L's turned around at Patos Island and began to head back South. Aboard the "Odyssey", the San Juan Excursions boat I work on, we headed up to Patos and soon found ourselves with Surprise L86 and her family.

Jade L118, niece/nephew to Surprise, tail slapped and breached a few times, giving me a look at the belly markings. Jade appears to be a female, and this is the second photo I have gotten of a probable Jade showing belly markings, with the other shot showing female markings as well. But the Center for Whale Research will be the one to officially declare the gender of Jade once they get a picture of his/her belly markings.

Jade L118 breaches.

After Jade L118, Surprise L86, Kasatka L82, Finn L116, and Lapis L103 swam past, Surprise's son Pooka L106 and her nephew Takoda L109 began wrestling and goofing off nearby.

Takoda L109, born in 2007, rolls over his cousin Pooka L106, born in 2005.

Super cropped photo of Pooka doing an aerial scan while playing with Takoda.

Takoda surfaces to take a breath.

Pooka swims on his side while playing with Takoda, exposing his tail flukes.

Pooka surfaces.

In the distance Kasatka L82, born in 1990, spy hopped and right afterwords her aunt Surprise L86, born in 1991, back dived.

Pooka lifts his tail flukes in the air while playing with Takoda, who's dorsal fin is visible in the lower left hand corner.

In the distance I could see a few other L pod matrilines, including Racer L72's family, Marina L47's family, and Crewser L92, with his aunt Ballena L90.

Muncher L91 cartwheels. She is one of Marina's daughters and was born in 1995.

Moonlight L83, Marina's other daughter, breaches a few times!

She was born in 1990.

By sunset, L pod was back on the West side of San Juan Island, but was soon exiting the area through the Strait of Juan De Fuca for the open ocean. K pod spent the night up at the Fraser River, continuing to hunt for Chinook salmon.

T037's And T034's On 7/18/13

7/20/2013

There had been no reports of orcas as "Natsilane" of San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours left the docks but while we were at Salmon Bank off the West side of San Juan Island looking for minke whales, I spotted blows and dorsal fins in the distance!! It turned out to be the same Transient orcas that were in the area the day before, chowing down on a minke whale that they had killed. They were two unrelated matrilines called the T034's, and T037's. While we were with them, the orcas were mostly in travel mode, with the young ones goofing off a lot.

Matriarch of the T034 matriline, T034, born around 1970.

Matriarch T037's second daughter, T037B, born in 1998.

Matriarch of the T037 matriline, T037, born in 1979.

T037A3, born in 2013. . .

. . .follows its mother, T037A, born in 1994.

T037A2, born in 2009, and its cousin T037B1 play together off the South end of San Juan Island.

The two families continued North in Haro Strait and took down a harbor porpoise in the evening. During the night, these two matrilines left the area, while the another Transient orca matriline called the T030's entered, as well as a different species of killer whale, the Southern Residents!

Breaching L22's On 7/16/13

7/17/2013

This encounter made me really think about why orcas may breach, or do other behaviors like cartwheels, spy hops, and pectoral fin/tail/dorsal slaps. These behaviors could indicate the orca is showing an emotion of some sort, which could be both a positive or negative one. These actions could also be used as a signal or communication for telling direction, location or distance to other pod members. Maybe it's an attempt at removing dead skin or parasites, or maybe these behaviors could just simply be done because they are really fun for the orcas. It's definitely something to ponder.

The "Odyssey", the San Juan Excursions whale watching boat I work on, was able to see the L22's once more as they headed from Salmon Bank to False Bay on the West side of San Juan Island. They were in travel mode until Spirit L22 breached. Her two sons Skana L79 and Solstice L89 followed her lead soon after.

Spirit L22 breaches. It looks like this private boater is closer than 200 yards but distance on water is deceiving. They were actually the appropriate distance away.

Skana L79 breaches.

Family portrait: Spirit L22 between her two sons Solstice L89 and Skana L79.

Solstice L89 breaches. He waved his pectoral fins up and down during this breach.

Spirit L22 breaches again.

Solstice L89 lands another breach.

Super super cropped shot of Spirit L22 cartwheeling, which I barely got into frame.

No matter why they do all these behaviors, they are differently magical to see. During the night of 7/16/13 though, the L22's exited the area after being alone with no other Southern Resident orcas in around since 7/12/13. I hope where ever they go, they will get more Chinook salmon they were managing to catch here.

By the morning of 7/17/13, there were already Transient orcas at Hein Bank near San Juan Island. They were the T034's and T037's and it is thought that they attacked and killed a minke whale there around nine in the morning and by seven in the evening, they were still feasting. The last known minke whale killed by transients in the area was on October 17th, 2002, at Saltspring Island. The matrilines identified during that event were the T018's, and the T007's among others. What will tomorrow bring? Will the T034's, and T037's still be around? We'll see!

Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)

L22's All By Their Lonesome Again On 7/15/13

7/15/2013

The L22's have been all alone since the rest of the Southern Resident orcas headed out on the night of 7/12/13. Spirit L22, and her two sons Skana L79, and Solstice L89 have spent almost all their time foraging for Chinook salmon along San Juan Island, but on this day they were at Hein Bank, about six miles South of San Juan. As I watched the three orcas from the "Odyssey" of San Juan Excursions, they seemed to be in an active mood. To read into the history of the L22 matriline, check out my last post about them here.

Spirit L22, estimated to have been born in 1971.

Spirit does an inverted tail slap. She also cartwheeled twice.

Solstice L89, born in 1993, tail slaps. He tailed slapped a lot on this day.

Solstice L89 surfaces, his exhale creating a rainbow.

A few minke whales were even active today, lunging as they ate schools of herring. To learn more about minke whales, check out this post here.

One minke lunges through some herring. . .

. . .while another one hits the same school!

This was the second time I had ever seen a minke whale lunge feed, let alone two doing it within seconds of each other! We left the L22's as they headed back to San Juan Island and as I write this, I can see the L22's swimming past my house on the West side of the island, their breaths illuminated in the sunset.

Active J Pod Group B Members On 7/12/13

7/14/2013

On the morning of 7/12/13, the L22's, J and K pod began to head offshore of San Juan Island and looked like they were heading out for the open ocean. The "Odyssey", a San Juan Excursions whale watching boat, caught up with Group B of J pod as the orcas headed South West towards Dungeness Spit. They seemed pretty active mood they traveled. Group B was split into two groups, we watched Oreo J22 and her family with Blackberry J27 and his family, and then moved onto Princess Angeline J17's matriline.

Rhapsody J32, born in 1996, does a half breach.

Left to right: Rhapsody J32, Oreo J22, Blackberry J27, and Cookie J38.

Rhapsody J32 cartwheels.

When we were hanging with Princess Angeline's family, her son Moby J44 and his cousins Star J46 and Notch were all playing together. Princess Anegline's daughter Polaris J28, born in 1993, was overseeing their playtime and was doing a bit of baby sitting.

Moby J44 and Star J46, both born in 2009, speed swim along.

Moby J44 leaps into the air!

Star J46 lays on top of cousin Notch J47, born in 2010. His head is barely visible right underneath her.

Notch J47 tail slaps.

About this time all four orcas went on a deep dive, and I believe that they caught a salmon and Polaris let the kids play with it.

Moby J44 pec slaps.

Moby J44 spy hops.

Moby spy hops while Star or Notch is belly up with what looks like a chunk of salmon.

Polaris J28, born in 1993, with her younger brother Moby J44.

Later on in the evening, all the orcas turned around and headed back to San Juan Island, but during the night they exited the area through the Strait of Juan De Fuca for the open ocean. The only Southern Resident members left around the island now were the three L22's again. This is the third time this summer that the L22's have been the only Resident orcas in the area. Wherever J, K, and the rest of L pod are now, I hope they are getting enough Chinook salmon to eat. . .

J's, K's, And Some L's On 7/11/13

7/14/2013

After all three Southern Resident pods entered the area on 7/8/13, all of J pod and K pod, and a few L pod members were still around on 7/11/13. Aboard San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours we caught up with a mix of J's, K's and L's as they foraged on the West Side of San Juan Island. The first orca I identified was a sprouter male named Lobo K26, who I hadn't seen since 7/6/11, though he had been around many times since then.

Lobo K26, born in 1993.

Skana L79, born in 1989.

Nearby I could see Lobo's mother Lea K14 with her offspring Yoda K36, and Kelp K42. Yoda took off after a salmon at one point, and as she swam top speed close to the surface of the water with her dorsal fin exposed, she created a rooster tail and a big wake!

Cookie J38, born in 2003, chases after a salmon too!

Lea K14, born in 1977.

Ti'lem I'nges J49, born in 2012 and his mother Hy'shqa J37, born in 2001, surface off the West side of San Juan Island.

Later in the day, I tagged along with the Odyssey of San Juan Excursions and was able to see other J, and K pod members. There was lots of cartwheeling from Opus K16, Sonata K35, Yoda K36, and other orcas, as well as a few spy hops and a breach from Sonata, who is starting to sprout!!

Yoda K36, born in 2003, cartwheels.

Opus K16, born in 1985.

It was so great to see J and K pod after their long absence.

Active J Pod Group B Members On 7/10/13

7/12/2013

Members from all three Southern Resident orca pods were still hanging around near San Juan Island on 7/10/13 after arriving 7/8/13. Aboard the "Odyssey", of San Juan Excursions, we caught up with Group B of J pod plus Slick J16 and her family.

A few years ago J pod began to split into two groups, Group A and Group B.

Group A contains:

Granny J2, F (est. 1911)
Spieden J8, F (est.1933)
Samish J14, F (est.1974)
Hy'Shqa J37, F (2001)
Suttles J40, F (2004)
Se-Yi-Chn J45, M (2009)
J49, M (2012)
Shachi J19, F (1979)
Eclipse J41, F (2005)
Onyx L87, M (1992)

Onyx was born into L pod but travels with Granny and Spieden after loosing his mother, Olympia L32. To learn more about Onyx's journey to find a mother figure, read Olympia's biography here.

Group B contains:

Oreo J22, F (1985)
Doublestuf J34, M (1998)
Cookie J38, M (2003)
Rhapsody J32, F (1996)
Princess Angeline J17, F (1977)
Polaris J28, F (1993)
Tahlequah J35, F (1998)
Moby J44, M (2009)
Star J46, F (2009)
Notch J47, M (2010)
Blackberry J27, M (1991)
Tsuchi J31, F (1995)
Mako J39, M (2003)

Slick J16, F (est.1972)

Mike J26, M (1991)

Alki J36, F (1999)

Echo J42, F (2007)

These orcas are known to switch between Group A and B.

We watched as members of Group B looked to be socialized with each other, as well as being just generally active. In the distance Granny J2 was leading Group A and some K pod members North.

Blackberry J27.

While someone does an inverted tail slap. . .

. . .a calf spy hops right next to him/her.

Oreo J22 rolls around.

Polaris J28 spy hops while other orcas splash around her.

Polaris J28 spy hops again.

Slick J16 and her daughter Echo J42 spy hop in unison.

Someone lifts their pectoral fin in the air before slapping it on the surface of the water.

Someone lifts their pectoral fin in the air. . .

. . .while someone else spy hops next to them.

Princess Angeline J17 and her son Moby J44.

Tahlequah J35, Oreo J22, Doublestuf J34, Rhapsody, and Cookie J38

It so was great to see all these guys interacting with each other. We left the orcas as they headed North for the Fraser River in Canada.

Please do not use my photos without permission. Just ask :)

Superpod On 7/8/13

7/9/2013

Reports came in of a large amount of orcas heading for San Juan Island from the Strait of Juan De Fuca on the morning of 7/8/13. Soon after, it was confirmed that all three pods that make up the entire Southern Resident orca population were coming home!!! Soon, all 82 orcas would be back in the area for the first superpod event of the year, which is their version of a big family reunion. During superpods, the orcas socialize, mate, celebrate, and interact with friends from the other pods they have not seen for awhile. J pod had been gone for the last month, K pod had not been back to San Juan Island since December, and L pod had been in and out of the area for the last few weeks.

The "Odyssey" (the San Juan Excursions boat I work on) met up with J and L pod as they headed for the West side of San Juan Island, but we did not see any K pod members as they were farther North of us. The first orcas we saw were Blackberry J27, his younger brother Mako J39, and Spirit L22.

Blackberry J27 (1991), Spirit L22 (est.1971), and Mako J39 (2003) travel tightly towards the island.

Marina L47, born in 1974.

Marina's son, Mystic L115, born in 2010.

In the distance, I could see other J and L pod members. All three pods were spread out for miles and everywhere I looked I could see orcas!

Mega L41, born in 1977.

Moonlight L83, born in 1990.

Moonlight's son, Midnight L110, born in 2007.

Takoda L109, born in 2003, breaches. . .

. . . followed by sibling Jade L118, who was born in 2011.

Takoda L109 breaches again. . .

. . .followed by sibling Jade L118 again!!

Racer L72, born in 1986. Her son Fluke L105, born in 2004, was not far behind.

Ophelia L27, estimated to have been born in 1961.

Pooka L106, born in 2005.

Lapis L103, born in 2003, waves goodbye.

The next day (7/9/13), all three pods had split up. The L12's and L22's were still on the West Side of San Juan Island, J and K pod traveled from Point Roberts to Lummi Island, and the rest of L pod went from San Juan Island to East point on Saturna Island in Canada. Where will they all be tomorrow??

Author

Melisa Pinnow grew up on San Juan Island in Washington State and is now a senior at The Evergreen State College. During the summer, she is a certified marine naturalist for San Juan Excursions and also works at the Center for Whale Research. It is her hope that sharing her orca encounters will inspire others to love and protect these magnificent creatures for generations to come.

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