Thursday, October 22nd
...out on Peregrine with Andy and Jeff to go see some Transient orcas that Simon, of Ocean Ecoventures, happened upon early this morning...
...yesterday I had heard that the whales with the bright white marks on some of their fins had shown up in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...well, those are none other than the T038s and most likely the T035s, who most often are with them...
...in October 2013 they showed up for the first time ever in these waters...they are known whales of the regional transient community...you can tell because the number is so low...T = transient/marine mammal eating orca and # = the order in which first seen...and since the matriline number is reaching close to T200 (won't that be neat!) that let's you know how long they have been being accounted for...(hope that makes sense)...
...as far as I know there are still 4 animals in the T035 group and 5 animals in the T038 group...
...BUT, when we got on scene...we only saw a total of 5 animals...it took a while to figure it all out...
...T038A (A = 1st offspring of T038) had a calf by her side...these two were traveling together the entire time, but I wasn't aware of her having had an offspring...in the few years they've been seen here, they show up in October...
it's October and they showed up with a calf that was born earlier in the year...
...Jared Towers of Dept of Fisheries and Oceans, Nanimo, B.C. confirmed that T038A had a calf earlier in 2015...we are getting to see it here for the first time.
...there were three others together...T035A, T035A1 (in this case 1 = 1st offspring of T035A, who is the 1st offspring of T035), and T035A2...a bit confusing at first, but this is actually great because the animal is always connected to the matriline even if, in this tranisent community, they don't always stay connected with their family...different from the Southern Residents in that way...
...during the time we were with them they made three kills...this group had a style and it was quite obvious...T035A, T035A1, and T035A2 were together and T038A and calf were together, traveling parallel and spread several hundred yards...there was a lunge at the surface and that was it...they traveled for several minutes and then one of them spyhopped...they proceeded to eat...they would be down for a few minutes then surface and move on...fascinating to watch their 'routine'...for today anyway...
...it looked like they were going to go through Active Pass, but instead chose Trincomali Channel...
...
...time for more to eat...
...love these 'hidden' shots...
...now for the rest of these two families to show up...
Sunday, October 12th
...yesterday (10/11) J pod whales were seen heading west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the morning...so sometime last night they had turned around and headed back down...they had been very vocal over the Lime Kiln hydrophones when they went up island...
...today, Sunday, out on Maya's Westside Charters there were two trips...on our first trip we headed over toward Victoria where there were some humpbacks and with the hope that the Residents would be coming back in or some Transients would show up...
...there was a huge bird gathering...
...and where there are birds there is often something else near by...
...but no one saw any killer whales...we got word there was were humpbacks closer to home...and then it began to rain a bit...
...wondering how the afternoon might go...
...and no sooner do we get off the dock than we 'get the word' - ORCA!...someone had just made contact...need I say more?...:)
...we heard someone say, "one of them has a white patch." (see that white on the dorsal fin - above)...bingo - if it was on the left side it would be T38A ...if it was on the right side it would be T38C...
...with the rain, the whales being close to the shore, etc. - what a challenge...
...but it wasn't long before they made a kill...it was the last day for that harbor seal, but those whales had a meal...nature, it has to take care of everyone...
...we knew they were after something but couldn't tell much until that juvenile surfaced with the seal in its mouth...then two others came right at us and one spyhopped, as you can see...they will often spyhop when they have made a kill...
...but they didn't seem to eat it right away they moved on...
...it was a short while before we saw gulls coming down to the surface for some scraps...killer whales are messy eaters - with conical shaped teeth that interlock - lots of ripping but no chewing...
...back to that white spot...
...T38A...first time I believe the T38s and T35s were photographed in these inland waters was one year ago...maybe they will make this an annual visit...
...it was time for us to go dry off...we went one way and the whales went...
...so far this fall we haven't seen all of those two family groups...maybe they too will show up soon...who we saw today were: T38A, T35A, T35A1, and T35A2
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...no sightings of any of the Southern Residents today...they are where the food is...maybe there will be enough for the whales to want to follow it in...and hopefully eat it before the fish make it to the hooks or nets out there...I'd prefer the fish make it into the mouths of the orcas...
