Date: 01-Sep-21

Sequence: 1

Encounter Number: 62

Enc Start Time: 11:18

Enc End Time: 16:48

Vessel: Orcinus

Observers: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss, Charli Grimes

Pods or ecotype: J and L Pod

Location: Point Roberts

Begin Lat/Long: 49 00.374 N/123 12.506 W

End Lat/Long: 48 54.669 N/123 03.548 W

​

Encounter Summary:

After Mark saw J pod off East Sooke on the 31st of August (see encounter 61), J pod calls were heard on the Lime Kiln hydrophone around 3:30 on the 1st. Michael and Charli got up early to scan from land, but saw nothing from Cattle Point or the West Side Preserve. At 7:30, the team received a report from the SR3 research team that they had found J pod in Swanson Channel, headed north. Dave, Michael, and Charli decided to deploy and head up Boundary Pass, hoping to find the group as they exited Active Pass on their way into Georgia Strait. However, they did not find the group as they approached the pass. Around 10:30, the whales were re-acquired off the coal docks north of Point Roberts. The team arrived on scene at 11:18 and began their encounter.

When the team arrived, the whales were very spread out, generally heading northwest. The team first found a trio of whales, which turned out to be the J41s, including new calf J58. After this group passed the team, J40 and J53 began foraging in the area near the research vessel, followed by J46, J35 and new calf J57, also foraging, with J47 near by. J57 and J35 took a moment to socialize with each other near the boat for a before continuing on their way. J19 was the next whale encountered, followed by J45. The whales changed direction, and began moving southeast down the strait.

The team spotted an adult male a few hundred yards away. A distant photo showed that this was L88, a slight surprise as previous reports of the group suggested it was only members of J pod. L88 joined up with J45, and the two males travelled together for a while. They were soon joined by a third whale, J46, who stayed in front of the two others. A short way ahead of this group, the team located J31 and J56. L88 broke off from J45 and J46 and began following this mother and daughter pair.

The team moved over to a group of young whales and sprouters they had seen in the distance. They found J39, J44, L108, and L117, all young males, socializing together in a tight group. Ahead of them was a single female, L54, confirming that all members of the L54 subgroup were present with the J pod members. The team moved further down the strait, and encountered a pair of adult males foraging in the same area, L88 and J26. Near this pair was J40, along with a good chunk of the J17 matriline, J46, J44, and J53. Further inshore were two more pairs of whales. The first was J38, starting to look like an adult male, and young male J49. Further inshore from them was J16 and adult daughter J36.

The team then once again came across the J35 matriline, with J57 rolling around on his mom, and J47 staying peripheral. Behind them were members of the J11 matriline, J31, J56, and adult male J27, joined by J40, with J53 nearby. This collection of whales were pretty social, with some spyhops and one big breach from J53. The two youngest calves, J57 and J58, joined up for a bit of play, with J46 nearby “babysitting.”

The team broke off from this group, and found another set of socializing whales. This one was an all male group composed of J49, J51, and L108, engaging in a lot of socio-sexual behavior. Nearby, they found J49’s mom, J37, foraging on her own. As the team moved further down the strait, the again encountered J39, now travelling on his own. Finally, the team encounter L54 on her own, with her son L117 nearby socializing with J38. As the team left the whales at 16:48, the whales were headed down the strait, still very spread out.