Ks And Ls On 11/22/15 And T077A On 11/23/15

On the morning November 22nd, during my Thanksgiving break back home on San Juan Island, some friends and I headed out on the water to try to find orcas. We knew that some K and L pod members (part of the salmon eating southern resident orca population) were making their way out of Puget Sound in Admiralty Inlet the day prior so we left Snug Harbor and aimed for the Strait of Juan De Fuca in hopes of locating them as they exited the area. We had just departed the harbor when we spotted a pair of humpbacks North of the Kelp Reef marker as they headed South together. One of them was Split Fluke or BCX1068, while the other was one we could not find in the ID guide.

After getting a few ID shots, we continued on but it wasn't long before we spotted another pair of humpbacks Northbound near the Beaumont Shoal marker. These two were not in the ID guide either, but we had seen them together the day prior (November 21st) near Sidney Island. During that trip, we think we saw 11 different humpbacks, a majority of them being around the Sidney/Gooch/Henry Island area and two out near Race Rocks. Two of these humpbacks were MMX0006 and MMY0024 but the rest that we got good enough photos of were not in the ID guide. Almost all the humpbacks we saw were in pairs.

One of the humpbacks we saw on both the 21st and the 22nd.

Alright, back to the November 22nd encounter! As we were leaving the pair of humpbacks near the Beaumont Shoal marker, we spotted another humpback off in the distance towards Baynes Channel. Intent on finding the orcas, we continued on and headed West in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Off of Victoria, we got word the orcas had been seen off of Otter Point! We headed West as fast as we could and the water conditions went from flat calm to lumpy 3-4 foot waves off of Sooke. We kept pushing forward and eventually caught up with Ks and Ls West of Sheringham Point and ended our encounter West of Jordan River. Once we were with the orcas, the waves calmed down a bit and we were able to have quite a nice encounter with members from the K12, K14, K16, L4, L26, L43, L47, and L54 matrilines. They were all spread out and surfing the waves as they traveled quickly West. Ino L54 tail slapped at one point and there were a few breaches and splashes off in the distance. It was so great to see the resident orcas again, especially the rare L54s, and to see my boyfriend's face as he saw orcas for the first time in his life. With limited light, it was time to wish them safe travels and to head back home.

Adult male Nyssa L84 Westbound off of Jordan River.

Adult female Sequim K12.

Adult male Wave Walker L88. One of my favorite orcas!

The next day, we had another orca encounter, but this time it was with a marine mammal eating transient orca! A lone male had been spotted and I immediately wondered if it was T077A. T077A is often a loner and had been seen in early November possibly entangled in some line and a float, though he could have also just been playing with them. Everyone was eager for a re-sighting of T077A to see if he was ok and it was just our luck that he popped up! We left Snug Harbor and joined a whale watching boat called the Peregrine who was with T077A off of Mandarte Island but we were soon the only boat with him. T077A didn't seem to be dragging anything with him as he gracefully swam along, breathing 3-4 times before taking a deep dive for a few minutes before resurfacing. He aimed for Gooch Island but soon found a harbor seal to eat. At one point, we saw him pushing the still living harbor seal around at the surface. T077A then milled about and fed on the seal while seagulls arrived to feed on scraps.

T077A looking good!

Once he was finished, he continued toward Gooch Island and decided to swim right under the stern at one point. Once near Cooper Reef, he began milling about again and seemed to have found another seal. T077A then got quite surface active for a moment. Maybe it was because he had killed the seal and was in a celebratory mood. Maybe he was trying to scare the seal out from under the boat. Maybe he was communicating with other transient orcas in the area that we didn't see. Maybe he was interacting with us or showing us he was free from entanglement. Whatever his reason for his behavior, we saw every part of his body and are confident that he is clear of any lines or float because he lightly tail slapped, dorsal fin slapped with a loud smack, and then breached (rather gently because the impact was not loud and the splash wasn't too big) right next to the boat!

T077A dorsal fin slaps!

He then continued to slowly mill about for the next few hours and stayed right around Cooper Reef. Seagulls were feeding on scraps on more then one occasion during this time so it is likely he killed at least one more seal if not more. Later on, he did a few inverted tail and pectoral fin slaps, as well as another breach off in the distance. He then came back over toward to us and found a patch of kelp to play with for a while. He lifted kelp into the air with his left pectoral fin, dragged into around with his dorsal fin, and then logged at the surface for a quick little nap. He then gently slipped his rostrum through the kelp and lifted it into the air so that it lay over his head, draped the kelp over the length of his back, did a few spy peeps, and then let the kelp slide along his peduncle. Nearby, a pair of humpbacks with unknown identities surfaced and eventually passed us, headed South.

T077A gently lifts kelp onto his head.

T077A was obviously in no hurry but he eventually started slowly making his way toward Moresby Island. Thankful for such an amazing encounter with T077A, as well as the encounter with Ks and Ls the day prior and the many humpbacks we had seen, we headed home full of smiles. What a great Thanksgiving break!

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