Late this morning I was puttering around my apartment when I decided I should head to the Victoria waterfront for an hour or so to see if I could spot any killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Just as I was getting ready to head out the door I received a call from my fellow whale-nerd friend, Mark, to see if I would like to meet him for coffee or lunch. So I bailed out on the waterfront search and we made plans to meet. Fifteen minutes later he called to tell me he had decided to have a little scan along the waterfront before coming to meet me and, sure enough, spotted a group of killer whales off the Victoria waterfront. Our lunch plans quickly turned into plans for a boat ride to go photo-ID a group of killer whales. The weather was perfect...calm and slightly coudy. Mark coordinated with our shore-based 'crows nest' spotter, Gordon Rowles, to keep an eye on the animals while he went to grab his trailered boat.
Half an hour later we were headed south in the Strait of Juan De Fuca cruising over the smooth but slightly lumpy swell, a remnant from last nights winds, with Gordon guiding us via VHF radio to where he could still see the killer whales heading south in the strait. After a 30 - 45 minute drive we spotted the distant blows on the horizon and were caught up with the group of killer whales. Mark spends a lot of time tracking the 'Transient' mammal-eating ecotype of killer whales and he instantly recognized the group of animals as the T30 matriline which includes T30, a female born at least in 1967, T30A, 24 year old male, T30B, a 17 year old female and T30C, a five year old juvenile. Initially we thought there were only the four animals but Mark and I soon realized that there was another female in the group; T172 a 21 year old female.
It was a nice encounter but they were definitely all business; they travelled quickly on a south and westbound track over to the American side of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. At times it was a bit tricky to keep up with them as they did the typical Transient zig-zag behaviour. It was a great day on the water and just what I needed after a nice, but fairly marine mammal-free, five weeks working in the Gulf of Mexico!
T30A the 24 year old son of T30
Above 2 photos: T30A (24 years old) and T30C (5 years old)
T172 the 21 year old female who as travelling with the T30s
Above 2 photos: T30A with shipping traffic passing in the distance
T30 (the ~43 year old matriarch of the T30s), T172 and T30C
T172, T30A and T30 travelling quickly in a tight group
T172, T30A and T30
Head on shot of two females
T30A you can see how his dorsal fin curls a little to the left (as viewed from behind) at the top
T30A
T30B
T172, T30 and probably T30B
T30, T30B, T30C and T30A (you can just see the melon of T172 behind T30A)
Center for Whale Research killer whale fact page
Orca Sightings Network Transient page
Canadian Department of Fisheries and Ocean Transient ID guide
Note: all the photos during todays encounter were taken using a 300 mm Nikon D70 and under scientific research permit
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