Encounter Summary: 

A little after 1400, Ken was searching Haro Strait with “Big Eyes” and he spotted Mark Malleson in “Her Majesty” returning from a whale search trip in Boundary Pass. In a classic move, Mark made an abrupt change of course to his starboard and Ken knew immediately that Mark had seen something; but, at three and one half miles it was just a little too far to see what Mark found. A few minutes later Mark called Ken on the cell phone and reported a group of transients headed north in Haro Strait.  By then, Ken had gathered up his cameras, binoculars, and foul weather gear and was headed out the door, and he cast off from Snug Harbor at 1437 in “Orca”, the trusty Boston Whaler he has used for forty years of whale research in the Salish Sea and the Eastern North Pacific Ocean. By 1455, he began an encounter with the T’s (Bigg’s ecotype killer whales) a mile south southeast of Kelp Reef in gray choppy seas. When Mark first spotted the whales they were travelling north in a group, but they soon commenced long dives (9 minutes) and changed direction each surfacing as if hunting for seals.  That is the situation when Ken began the encounter as Mark left to return to Victoria harbor.

The whales were being very difficult to photograph,… they seemed to always be upwind causing the wind and waves to splash everything in “Orca” when attempts were made to approach to about 100 meters for telephoto photography. T30, the forty-nine year old matriarch of her family of five was particularly cryptic and only appears in two photos taken during the first surfacing, both at great distance with her moving away from the group. She has been rather shy of approaching vessels ever since her satellite tagging in September 2008, but her physical wounds have largely healed. During one pass, decent photographs were taken of most of the whales confirming there were at least eight in the group which also consisted of thirty-two year old T124A, her fifteen year old daughter T124A2, and the daughter’s calf T124A2A.  Just before leaving the whales near Kelp Reef as darkness approached Ken shot a brief video that shows the surfacing pattern of this group. No predation events were observed during the encounter, although the long dives and course changes may suggest foraging was on their mind. Mark may have seen more whales before Ken arrived, and his photos will be examined later. It is not unusual for Bigg’s whales to split up and reunite as they travel through habitats with high prey density, such as around Kelp reef. With darkness approaching and the wind picking up, the encounter was ended at 1648.