I need to recap just to keep things straight in my mind:
July 5th: when they had come in from Constance Bank they were in large groups and it was easy to account for all of J pod and Onyx L-87, K pod, and the 19 whales of L pod who have been in here...
July 7th: I have images of Group B and all of K pod in a resting pattern off the lighthouse...and they show that when the resting group woke up and split, at least for a few minutes...that Group B and the K Klik turned back toward the north (Granny's Group was coming down from the north but still miles away), while the rest of K pod continued down island... (the K Klik is known to travel with Group B at least when they are in these waters)...the 19 L pod whales were way to the south and east...
July 7th: the same day I have images of Granny's Group - Group A - including Shachi J-19 and Eclipse J-41 at Kellett Bluff a few hours later, as they were coming back down from the north...
July 8th: all gone west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...
July 9th - July 11th:
...Granny's Group - Group A - is currently without Shachi J-19 and Eclipse J-41...now here's a story that might just be unfolding...
...Shachi J-19 and Eclipse J-41 traveled with Granny's Group, which until last October included Spieden J-8...I remember watching when Spieden moved over and began traveling with Granny's group and at some point Shachi and Eclipse did too...I'll have to go back through my images to pinpoint some of that...
...Shachi was possibly a sister to Blossom J-11, who was mother to Blackberry J-27, Tsuchi J-31, and Mako J-39 (CWR SRKW matrilinial charts)...but when Blossom died Shachi and her then young offspring Eclipse did NOT move back over to be with her neice and nephews...I was curious about that...
...so now, if Shachi and Eclipse do end up moving back over and travel with Group B, where J-27, J-31 , and J-39 are, that could be interesting to see just how that grouping develops, if at all...
...whatever the case, I find it fascinating!
Now to today - July 11th
...it's commonly called the West Side Shuffle...they go up and they go back down...up...and down...sometimes multiple times in one day...sometimes they make it up to or past Lime Kiln and other times they don't...
...my first images were from Maya's Westside Charters as the whales were going back down...
2 comments:
How many lbs of salmon does an orca eat a day? Love your updates and photos of the whales. Thanks Betsy
I have heard that for an adult male it is between 250 to 400 lbs a day. I imagine it depends on the energy expended as to what each individual would require to maintain.
That may sound like a lot but when the salmon are big (we always hope), say 40lbs each, that's just 10 a day.
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