Photo by Dave Ellifrit
Photo by Ken Balcomb
Photo by Dave Ellifrit
Photo by Dave Ellifrit
Encounter Summary:
After being spotted earlier in the day off False Bay by Barbara Bender aboard Hobbes Buchanan's boat, the T137's headed north up San Juan Island and passed CWR by about 1330. Rhonda aboard a Prince of Whales boat found another group of transients heading east off Victoria in the morning too.
Ken and Dave left Snug Harbor aboard Chimo at 1400 and we could see where the whales were near Open Bay before we made it out of the harbor. A few minutes later we were watching T137A and T137B apparently finishing up a kill just inside the mouth of Open Bay. T137A spyhopped and a little later did a reverse surfacing as the two siblings fed on their kill. These two moved on toward the south shore of Kellett Bluff where T137 and T137D showed up and there was more milling. T137A did another reverse surfacing but it was unclear whether they made another kill or were still feeding on the old one. Perhaps T137 and T137D made a kill of their own too.
The T137's headed north along Kellett Bluff before T137 and T137D moved several hundred yards off the bluff while T137A and T137B stayed along the shoreline.
At about 1450, T137B lunged after something near Battleship Island and T137A came charging over from the east. They made the kill as we saw blood when they went by us and they appeared to be carrying something. We left all four of the whales milling and feeding together just west of Battleship Island at 1500.
Apparently this last kill was of a pregnant harbor porpoise because, ten minutes after we left, T137A was documented by several different people in multiple boats shaking around what looks to be a harbor porpoise fetus.
07-Mar-15
1
9
14:03
15:00
Chimo
Ken Balcomb, Dave Ellifrit
T137's
T137,T137A,T137B,T137D
Kellett Bluff
48. 34.93/123.11.33
48.37.42/123.11.38
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• Encounter #9 - March 7, 2015 •
Photos taken under Federal Permits
NMFS PERMIT: 15569/ DFO SARA 272