Encounter Summary:

This group of Bigg's Transient killer whales has been around for a few days foraging mostly on the Canadian side of the border near Victoria, but today they ventured to the American side and just happened to come right in front of the bluff where Ken is setting up an observation station on the Olympic Peninsula near Port Angeles. From this base, photographs were taken that were suitable for identification, but testing a vessel response Ken hurried to the boathouse and launched "Chimo" and intercepted the group just off the Coast Guard station on Ediz Hook. T37A4 has a very jaunty look to his fin due to a serious bite wound that has healed after tilting his fin to the right about half way up. The tooth rake spacing is indicative of having been inflicted by a juvenile killer whale. Only a brief glimpse was had of T11, but one cannot miss the massive dorsal fin of T11A. The group conducted at least two predation events, probably on harbor seals, during this encounter. On the following morning, 31 August, this group was preying upon harbor seals near Albert Head west of Victoria. They are still around as of 1 September - foraging conditions are good for them with lots of seals and harbor porpoises seemingly everywhere in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca.