J Pod Showed up Inland Today!

July 14, 2025

It started out as a confusing day when a humpback whale was seen and visitors thought it was an orca...well it was a whale just not an orca.  Shortly after it had passed by - thank you to everyone who showed me their pictures, proving it was confirmed a humpback.

At almost the same time word came in that SRKWs (Southern Resident Killer Whales) were in Haro Strait and heading up island.  

Okay, total confusion for a while...and then J Pod started to make an appearance coming up island and passing the lighthouse...How exciting it was to see them again...it has been almost 2 months since they have been seen in these waters...and many people had their first experience of seeing a pod of orcas - J Pod. Some people have watched these whales for many years and were so glad to see them here again.  Those who had not ever seen them before were thrilled - of course!

My photos did not turn out well but here are a few from the day...

Above image is of a male...looked like he was chasing a salmon. It's Mike (J-26) you can see his open saddle patch, though barely.

Another family member of the J16s is Alki (J-36). Over the years she has often been seen traveling near her big brother Mike (J-26).

Looked like Alki (J-36) was after salmon too!  Let's hope!!

The whales were spread out, some very close to shore.

...and then these two, Suttles (J-40) and her calf J-63 - who I had not previously gotten a good image of - yay!!  This family group belongs to the Samish (J-14) family.

Below is Shachi (J-19), her only offspring is Eclipse (J-41) who now has three offspring, keeping 'grandma' busy!

I thought I got an image of Eclipse's youngest but my camera told me I didn't.  oops....I'll try for the next time!

It was a great day seeing J Pod for the first time in about 2 months.

What a great day and of course the whales knew it was time to be present to do their part in encouraging the humans to care for the ocean health. 

Just their presence helped people understand they can do their part to help them recover.  Each one teach one and think of how you can help these magnificent orcas.