EncDate: 10/09/21

EncSeq: 02

Enc#: 69

ObservBegin: 11:17 AM

ObservEnd: 02:52 PM

Vessel: Mike 1

Staff: Mark Malleson

Other Observers: Joe Zelwietro

Pods: Transients

LocationDescr: Table Rock

Start Latitude: 48 23.8

Start Longitude: 124 57.6

End Latitude: 48 26.9

End Longitude: 125 00.9

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EncSummary: (Sequence 2)

After departing the T007B matriline (see Encounter 69, Sequence 1), Mark and Joe had plans to meet a colleague around the canyons off the west coast of Vancouver Island and Washington, but a turn in weather forced them to change plans and head back to shelter of the Juan de Fuca. They were steering back in toward Cape Flattery about an hour later when a large clearing opened in the fog, and a solitary killer whale dorsal fin crested the swell almost two miles north of the boat. Two more appeared, and it was clear that this small group of killer whales was travelling quickly north on a heading that would take them almost precisely back to where the T007Bs had been left earlier in the day. They began the encounter at 1117 at 48 23.8‘ N / 124 57.6‘ W.
When Mike 1 finally neared the whales, T046E burst through the surface, racing to catch up to mom, who was leading the charge. Mike 1 followed the porpoising animals for a short while until Joe spotted the T007Bs just a few hundred meters ahead, milling at another predation. Both matrilines dove for a minute or two before the T046s surfaced on the spot where the others had gone down. T007B3 was then seen heading away from the scene. It initially appeared that the T046s may have stolen a meal until T007B4 surfaced in the middle of it all, sharing in the spoils. The remaining T007Bs, however, moved off to the periphery and were not seen again for almost an hour in the building seas. When they did reappear, they were sitting restfully at the surface until T007B4 rejoined, and all continued south.
Meanwhile, the T046s were enjoying a feast of their own, four of them savouring whatever mammal they had taken down. T046E breached and tail-lobbed nearly continuously a few hundred meters away from the rest, not joining the group and only occasionally met by younger brother T046F. Mark and Joe shadowed the whales from a good distance as they ate, but no prey was identified, and they were about to end the encounter when a pair of humpback whales joined the fray and began trumpeting and interacting with the group of killer whales. The interaction lasted three breathing cycles for both species but ended with the humpbacks moving on and the killer whales continuing their prolonged prey-sharing.
With fog setting back in and the wind picking up, the guys decided to end the encounter and return to Port Renfrew to gear up for the next day. The encounter ended at 1452 at 48° 26.9‘ N / 125° 00.9 ‘ W.