Watching Our Water Ways

I’m happy to inform you that reports of a killer whale being struck off the west side of San Juan Island this morning apparently were false.

Erin Heydenreich, Ken Balcomb and others with the Center for Whale Research spent about two hours on the water this afternoon checking out L-90, a 19-year-old female known as “Ballena.” She was the orca reported to have been struck by a boat going too fast near the whales.

“We got a very good look at her,” Erin noted. “There were no signs of injury or indications that she had been struck.”

She noted that the orca was acting “strange,” including logging at the surface for unusually long times, moving slowly and making brief dives. That may have been one reason that observers believed she had been struck by a boat.

But another explanation for her unusual behavior is that Ballena is pregnant and about to have a calf, she said. That type of behavior has been seen in the past among expectant orca moms.

“She is at that age where she should be having a calf (her first),” she said. “She could be having a difficult pregnancy or something may be wrong with her not related to this vessel thing.”

Erin said officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife questioned individuals involved with the incident and reported that it was unlikely that any whale was hit.

She said the researchers also checked out J-32, a 15-year-old female that was initially reported in the area. That whale, named “Rhapsody,” also showed no signs of injury.

The Center for Whale Research plans to watch L-90 especially closely the next few days to see if she has a new calf or otherwise changes her behavior.

Craig Bartlett of WDFW confirmed that officers had talked to the occupants of a large pleasure boat that had been moving slowly through the area. They were surprised that anyone believed something was seriously wrong, he said.

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Killer whales of the Salish Sea and Puget Sound returned to the San Juan Islands with a newborn calf yesterday, as I described in a story for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun.

The newborn orca, K-44, was photographed with his mother in Haro Strait in the San Juan Islands.
Photo: Center for Whale Research

While J pod and portions of K and L pods have been seen in inland waters lately, the major portion of K and L pods have not been around for weeks.

I was ready in early June to write about their return, because that is often when they arrive in Washington state to spend much of the summer. On Tuesday of this week, when L pod was reported off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, I began checking with marine mammal and salmon experts to find out what might be keeping the orcas away.

I was getting ready to write something about the missing orcas and their search for chinook salmon when they suddenly showed up with the new baby. I will save some ideas about the orca-salmon connection until I can put my thoughts into a coherent form. For now, it’s good to celebrate the arrival of the newborn with no apparent deaths among the orcas seen so far.

Of course, nobody knows how long they will stay or where they will travel over the next few months before heading into Central and South Puget Sound in the fall.

The new baby, designated K-44, is one the youngest calves ever identified by gender. (He’s a boy.) Frequently, months or even years will go by before researchers get a good look or photograph of their undersides. Check out diagram at Center for Whale Research (click on “Questions & Answers”) to see how you can tell males from females.

Websites worth watching:

Orca Network’s sightings page (with signup for e-mails)

Salish Sea Hydrophone Network (with links to past and present underwater sounds)

Whale of a Purpose

Center for Whale Research

It's a boy! / Photo: Center for Whale Research

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Early in December, I wrote about a plan to attach satellite transmitters to selected Puget Sound killer whales by shooting darts into their dorsal fins. At the time, lots of people offered questions and concerns, but few had taken a strong position. See my story in the Kitsap Sun of Dec. 5.

Since then, Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research and others involved in research, education and advocacy have come out against the tagging program as currently proposed. On the other hand, several other researchers are encouraging the federal government to push the tagging program forward.

After 140 days, marks are apparent where barbs of satellite tag entered the dorsal fin of the transient killer whale known as T-30.
Click to enlarge

As Ken explained it to me, his bottom line is that the information gathered by tracking the whales by satellite may not be worth the injury caused by shooting barbed darts into the whales’ fins. He argues that more follow-up investigation is needed into the short- and long-term effects of the darts, which eventually work their way out.

Ken was actually the first to apply for a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct the tagging program with barbed darts. While not wishing to criticize his fellow researchers, Balcomb said he had been overly assured that the risk of injury was exceedingly small.

“I was shown pictures of almost-healed wounds,” Ken told me. “I was given assurance that there was not an issue. I didn’t even think about these titanium leaves coming out and leaving a hole that size (in the fin).”

The current design of the dart used to attach satellite transmitters to killer whales.

The turning point was when Ken saw a photo of a transient killer whale, T-30, who had carried one of the satellite tags. (See the picture, above right.) He said the long-term scarring was “ugly and unacceptable to me personally,” and he believed that many whale supporters also would object.

Ken turned down the approved tagging permit — in part because it was granted as an amendment to his existing permit for photographing and identifying orcas as part of his ongoing census. If unacceptable injury were to occur to the subject whales, he said, his entire permit could be suspended. That, in turn, would prevent him from continuing the identification work he has done for more than 30 years.

Ken elaborated in a Dec. 18 letter written to the National Marine Fisheries Service:
(more…)

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The three pods of Southern Resident killer whales have been in and out of Puget Sound the past few weeks, according to reports from Orca Network and the Center for Whale Research.

Today, people began reporting sightings of the killer whales from the Bainbridge Island ferry before 9 a.m. Apparently, there were lots of orcas and spread out, as folks began seeing them about the same time in Seattle’s Elliott Bay, according to reports from Orca Network.

By 10:30 a.m.,they were between West Seattle and Vashon Island. They continued south and reached about the halfway point on Vashon Island about 12:30 p.m., when they turned around and headed back north, according to reports. Some whales may have continued south around the southern tip of Vashon Island and came back north through Colvos Passage, as five or six whales were spotted near the Southworth Ferry Terminal about 5 p.m.

Below are videos taken from news helicopters over Elliott Bay in the morning, top from KOMO-4 and bottom from KING-5.

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UPDATE, Nov. 24, 2010
Sometimes it takes a vacation to catch up on things. I always intended to list the new names given by the Whale Museum in this entry. I’m only two months late, after more than 7,500 votes were counted. Nevertheless, here are the new names as announced in a Sept. 15 news release:

J-44: The Whale Museum’s name is “Moby.” Other alternatives were “Kellett” and “Fin.” Ken Balcomb did not announce a name for this one.

J-46: “Star” is the name chosen by Ken, and Whale Museum voters concurred. Other options were “Galaxy” and “Dubhe.”

L-112: “Sooke” will be the name listed by the Whale Museum. Ken had already named her Victoria. The Whale Museum also proposed “ReJoyce” and “Wonder.”

L-113: Ken named her Molly. Whale Museum voters chose “Cousteau.” “Haro” and “Talise” were other alternatives.

I still have not decided whether to list one or both names in my stories or simply call them by their alpha-numeric designations.
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Ken Balcomb, who heads the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, has announced new names for six young killer whales that frequent the Salish Sea.

Balcomb’s names apparently will be different from names chosen by the Whale Museum, which has traditionally named the orcas. Could this cause confusion among those interested in whale families?

Since the 1970s, the Center for Whale Research has kept a census of the whales, designating new calves with a letter for their pod (J, K or L), along with the next available number in sequence. Until last year, when Ken named one young orca “Star,” the naming process was left up to the Whale Museum, based in Friday Harbor. See Water Ways, Nov. 19.

By the way, the Whale Museum is currently conducting a public vote to name four killer whales as part of its Orca Adoption Program. Check out the Whale Museum’s site.

Ken told me that people may choose to use his names, or not, as they wish, but he intends to list the names with their designations for identification purposes. As he stated in a blog entry announcing the names:
(more…)

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Knowing the precarious nature of the Southern Resident killer whale population, it’s hard for me to write about the loss of individual animals, as I did in Tuesday’s entry in Water Ways, when I reported the deaths of three orcas.

Life goes on, but it’s hard to duck a mild feeling of gloom when I think of these families struggling to survive — with some whales dying before their time and a number of female whales failing to mother any calves in the peak of their reproductive years. Given uncertainties about food, disease and unknown catastrophes, I’m reminded that the risk of extinction remains very real. We’ll hear more about this potential in the coming months, as the National Marine Fisheries Service completes its five-year status review under the Endangered Species Act.

All in all, it’s been a good summer for killer whales in the San Juan Islands, according to Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research. The orcas appear to have found enough salmon to be considered a healthy size, and it appears they are fit to go into winter.

Capt. Jim Maya of Maya’s Westside Charters sent me some nice photos of the orcas in the San Juan Islands. He said I could share them with you. It’s an important reminder that these animals live in tight-knit family groups, traveling together, sharing food and helping each other raise the young ones. To me, that’s what it means to be wild and free, no matter what their future may hold.

(Click to enlarge.)

Photos by Capt. Jim Maya

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Killer whale observers are celebrating the birth of a new calf born in L pod, one of the three groups of whales that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. The proud mom is L-47, also known as “Marina.”

A new calf has been born to L-47, known as Marina. The calf has been designated L-115.
Photo by Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research

The calf, less than three weeks old, appears to be doing fine, according to Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research. Excitement over the birth is tempered somewhat by the knowledge that Marina has lost five of her seven known calves, with survivors being two of her older offspring.

In phoning Ken to confirm the new calf, I knew I needed to ask about missing orcas — the ones not seen this summer. In the spring, observers will keep looking intently for missing whales. Late in the summer, it becomes time to face the fact that some individuals will never be seen again.

Unfortunately, three killer whales must be placed on the list of those “missing and presumed dead.” Two orcas born in 1986 — L-73 (“Flash”) and L-74 (“Saanich”) have been missing for several months.

Until now, Ken was not quite ready to give up on K-11, “Georgia.” At an estimated age of 77, she was the oldest whale in K pod.

“We’ve been hoping we would see K-11,” Ken told me. “We did see her in May, but she didn’t make it to July, and we did not see her recently. I think that’s enough time.”

So the new total for all three pods drops to 87, from 89 in my previous report.

To end on a positive note, the whales appear to be successfully hunting for salmon this summer in the San Juan Islands and up into Canada. They will likely go into winter with adequate body mass.

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A new calf born in K pod is seen swimming with its mom, K-12, also known as Sequim.
Photo by Emma Foster, courtesy of Center for Whale Research

Everyone I know who studies and loves killer whales is pleased to see a continuing series of births among all three pods that frequent the Salish Sea. It’s a good sign to have such a variety, and the calves seem to be surviving at a high rate.

The population is gradually rebuilding itself, with the latest news being a new calf in K pod. Here’s the story I wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun, which was posted on the website:

FRIDAY HARBOR — A new orca calf has been born in K pod, one of the three groups of killer whales that frequent the Salish Sea and Puget Sound, experts say.

The young calf, designated K-43, was spotted Tuesday swimming with K-12, presumed to be the mother, according to biologists with the Center for Whale Research. It is the third calf born to the three Southern Resident pods this year.

K pod returned to the San Juan Islands this week by way of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but apparently turned back. All three groups are beginning to settle in for a summer of fishing in and around the islands. J pod and portions of L pod have already arrived, but both pods have been coming and going, apparently not finding many chinook salmon, experts say.

The new whale apparently was spotted by observer Jeanne Hyde on Feb. 21 while K pod traveled with J pod in the San Juan Islands. At that time, the calf could not be positively confirmed, but it now looks to be five months old.

K-12, the new mother, is believed to be 38 years old.

She was a young animal when Ken Balcomb, the center’s director, began to identify individual whales and maintain an annual census. She has two other offspring, K-22 and K-37.

The new birth brings the number of whales in K pod to 20. J pod has 28 whales, and L pod 42. Final counts for this year won’t be made until all the whales have returned.

For the past few years, the Center for Whale Research has been reporting births and deaths as they are observed. It is much easier to take note of births, because the young whales are quite obvious. Deaths are tougher, because it takes time to decide whether a whale is gone for good or just off somewhere else. A good count of the whales traditionally comes in summer, when all three pods are around long enough for Ken Balcomb and his crew to make a complete tally.

As of now, the total count of the three pods stands at 90, according to a running tally kept by Orca Network, based on reports from the Center for Whale Research. That number was last reached in 2004. (See chart by Orca Network.) A recent high of 96 animals was reached in 1996, the year before 19 members of L pod spent a month in Dyes Inlet. If I recall, the number of killer whales was estimated to be close to 200 before the decline brought about by capture for aquariums during the 1960s and early ’70s.

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UPDATE, FRIDAY, MAY 28, 8:25 a.m.

On Thursday, it appears the transient killer whales started the day in Poulsbo’s Liberty Bay, passed by Illahee and went out Rich Passage about 10 a.m. I heard from researcher Mark Sears that they had spent the day traveling around Vashon Island, ending up at 8 p.m. at the south end of Bainbridge Island. Check out my story in today’s Kitsap Sun for a few more details.
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I’ve been hearing about transient killer whales in Puget Sound all year. Dozens of these seal-eating orcas have been sighted in small groups here and there throughout the region. Check out Orca Network’s Archives for reports made to that organization.

Transients have come and gone quickly from Sinclair Inlet near Bremerton a few times this year. But, as far as I know, yesterday was the first time since 2004 that they made it all the way into Dyes Inlet.

It was a good chance for me to talk a little about transients with the help of Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research and Howard Garrett of Orca Network, as you can see in a story I wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun.

By the way, the last report we had last night was at 7:30 in Ostrich Bay, but an observer reported them at 9:20 p.m. on the west side of Dyes Inlet and posted a comment on the story. (Appreciation goes to “rgdimages#217099.”)

Howie informed me this morning that a group of four transients was seen coming out of Liberty Bay near Poulsbo at 6:45 a.m. We’ll try to report whether those are the same animals as the ones in Dyes Inlet and where they go next. To report to Orca Network, one can send an e-mail, info@orcanetwork.org, or call (866) ORCANET.

It seems to be a big year for the transients. Why this is happening is open to speculation, which is always risky, but I appreciate Ken’s willingness to think out loud sometimes and kick a few ideas around. I mean, if scientists are unable to come up with hypotheses, there is nothing to test for.

So one possible explanation is that transients are here because residents are somewhere else. Residents may be somewhere else because there aren’t many salmon here right now. On the other hand, maybe seals and/or sea lions are finding enough to eat, and transients are finding success in hunting the smaller marine mammals.

This whole notion raises all kinds of questions for me, and I’ll try to explore these ideas in future stories. For example, if there are fish for seals and sea lions, why aren’t the resident killer whales eating them? Maybe the smaller marine mammals are concentrating on smaller fish? If fish are in short supply, will the population of seals and sea lions crash, or will these animals go somewhere else, too? And, given the cyclic nature of salmon populations, what is happening to the entire food chain — from the forage fish that salmon and seals eat up to the largest predators, the killer whales?

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Excitement continues to build among killer whale observers, as seven newborn orcas have arrived in the past year. There have been no deaths during that time.

A newborn calf, L-114, is seen swimming with its mother, L-77, named Matia. The photo was taken Sunday in Cordova Bay on the eastern side of Vancouver Island near Nanaimo, B.C. (Click to enlarge)
Photo courtesy of Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research

He’s a story I prepared this morning for the Kitsap Sun Web site:

A new calf has been born into L Pod, one of the three groups of orcas that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

The young whale was spotted Sunday in Cordova Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, by Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. The center maintains an ongoing census of the Southern Resident killer whale population.

The two researchers later confirmed that the newborn, designated L-114, is the offspring of L-77, a 22-year-old named Matia. This is her first known calf, though it is possible she has had one or more offspring that did not survive.

The mother and calf were traveling with another mother-calf pair, L-94, Calypso, and her calf, L-113, born last fall. Calypso is Matia’s sister. The four whales are part of a portion of L pod that often travels together. They have become known as the L-12 subpod.

Balcomb and Ellifrit reported that they observed the newborn calf Sunday afternoon while the whales were headed south in Cordova Bay. At about 5 p.m., they reached the southern shore and headed east toward open water. They appeared to be hunting for fish, with “lots of taillobs, cartwheels and pec slaps,” according to a report on the center’s Web page.

This is the seventh orca calf born to the three Southern Resident pods in the past year. There have been no deaths during that time. This latest birth brings L Pod’s population to 42 animals and the overall population to 89.

“This continues the streak,” said Howard Garrett of Orca Network. “I am at a loss for an explanation. I am just celebrating.”

“It’s great news for the population,” Balcomb said. “So far all of them are doing well.”

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