An unidentified pod of killer whales was reported yesterday in the snow near the home of Doug McCutchen and Kari Koske on San Juan Island.

“Snorkas” on San Juan Island. (Click to enlarge.) Photo courtesy of Doug McCutchen

“They’ve been milling slowly in the same place for the last 28 hours now,” they reported to Orca Network. “No vocalizations or other surface activity.”

Orca Network dubbed them “snorkas” for snow orcas.

I thought this was a nice piece of sculpture work, but I was wondering how Doug and Kari were able to color the snow black in exactly the right places. Doug sent me this note:

“We used some old oil that had been kicking around the shop after changing oil in the car awhile back. Kidding! We simply cut the black portions out in Photoshop, pasted them into a new window, adjusted the contrast, and then pasted them back in again. Really didn’t spend much time on it, as you can tell if you look closely. We’d made the whales the night before by rolling big snowballs together then sculpting with a machete. It snowed another 4-6″ that night, so they’re a little softer than the originals.”

Speaking of killer whale sightings, Orca Network has been receiving reports of animals in Central and South Puget Sound the past few days.

The latest report was about 9 a.m. this morning near Kingston. Because of the weather and difficulty seeing from shore, many of the reports are coming from ferry crews.

Sightings yesterday included one near Fay Bainbridge State Park and another from Restoration Point, both on Bainbridge Island. Later in the day, three groups of orcas were seen traveling down Colvos Passage between the Kitsap Peninsula and Vashon Island.

Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are understandably excited by a recent sighting of what may have been a “superpod” of more than 200 killer whales — all swimming relatively close together and apparently fishing for tuna.

Up until the sighting earlier this month, Charter boat captain Eddie Hall thought he had seen everything.

“Lot’s of cool stuff, everything from submarines to ships to every kind of shark you can think of, never a killer whale,” he said during an interview with Debbie Williams of WKRG News in the Mobile-Pensacola area. “Never ever thought about seeing a killer whale in my lifetime in the Gulf.”

(If the screen below doesn’t work, go straight to the WKRG Web site.)

Until now, the population of killer whales in the Gulf had been estimated at 150, according to Williams’ report.

Biologist Keith Mullin said 17 orca sightings have been recorded. “Ten to 15 in a pod; that’s the most we’ve ever seen or really even gotten reports of,” he told WKRG.

The stock assessment report (PDF 152 kb) by the National Marine Fisheries Service suggests that very little is known about killer whales in the Gulf of Mexico. A report written in October 2007 offers a guesstimate of 49 animals in the Northern Gulf of Mexico area.

Thirty-two individuals have been photographically identified to date, with 6 individuals having been sighted over a 5 year period, and 1 whale resighted over 10 years… The Gulf of Mexico population is provisionally being considered a separate stock for management purposes, although there is currently no information to differentiate this stock from the Atlantic Ocean stock(s)…

There are insufficient data to determine the population trends for this species. The total level of U.S. Gulf of Mexico fishery-caused mortality and serious injury for this stock is unknown, but the rarity of mortality reports for this species suggests that this level is insignificant and approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate.

As you can see, the knowledge about killer whales in the Gulf is considerably different from what we know about killer whales in the Northwest, where every birth and death of our two fish-eating resident populations are noted and where most of the seal-eating transients have been identified and monitored over time.

For a little more about the recent Gulf sighting, Steve Layton and Gary Finch wrote about the event on the Orange Beach (Ala.) Community Web site, where they said video would be coming soon.

Thanks go to Orca Network for tracking down good whale stories, wherever they take place.

Glacier Northwest has begun work on the controversial pier that will eventually support its gravel-mining operation on Maury Island. See updated story by Leslie Brown in the Vashon Beachcomber.

Meanwhile, a protest demonstration got underway this morning near the construction site. Kathy Fletcher of People for Puget Sound reported about 50 protesters as well as some 10 dinghies and kayaks at 8:30 a.m. this morning.

Yesterday, a contingent of 20 to 30 killer whales — apparently including members from all three Puget Sound pods — visited the South Sound area, not far from the Glacier site. I thought maybe they had come south to join the protest, but during the night they turned north and came up through Puget Sound.

If you recall, the orcas were cited among reasons to deny the construction activity in an aquatic reserve frequented by the whales in winter.

As of 11:30 a.m. today, the orcas were in Admiralty Inlet north of the Kitsap Peninsula, according to Howard Garrett of Orca Network, who was among the widely scattered whales when I talked to him by phone.

See Orca Network for reports of whale travels. In case you’re not aware of it, anyone can sign up for e-mail reports of whale sightings, typically compiled at the end of each day.

By the way, People for Puget Sound has scheduled a “Bremerton Moonlight Beachwalk” Thursday in Bremerton and a “Starlight Beachwalk and Bonfire” Friday in Burien. Reservations are recommended for both events.

If you can stand another scientific report about Puget Sound’s killer whales, I’d like to point you to interviews I conducted with Sam Wasser and his research associate Katherine Ayres for a story in Sunday’s Kitsap Sun.

It turns out that hormones taken from the whales’ feces tend to confirm that the animals were under “nutritional stress” this year, when seven whales died, compared to last year, when the mortality was minimal.

The unpublished information needs to undergo peer review, but the implications are many for Puget Sound restoration and what is needed for the whale population to survive.

Wasser and Ayres also hope to be able to tell whether the whales are under stress when pursued by a greater number of whale-watching boats. Stay tuned; I’ll be tracking this research as it goes along.

I’m still trying to understand the various implications of a study by David Bain and Pete Schroeder, who found that Puget Sound’s killer whales are harboring antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well as some strains of bugs that can be deadly to immune-compromised mammals.

Puget Sound killer whales // NOAA photo

It seems likely that killer whales are picking up bacteria from humans, since the resistance is most likely caused when people or livestock take antibiotics but don’t take them long enough or in great enough concentration to kill all the bacteria. The result is that some bacteria get a taste of the antibiotics but escape and become resistant.

How the bacteria get into marine waters is somewhat uncertain, but likely sources are discharges in stormwater, in sewage effluent and from boats.

The fact that the researchers found some bad bugs is not a good thing, since the orcas’ immune systems may be weakened by toxic chemicals and a shortage of food.

Federal biologists studying the risks of extinction for Puget Sound orcas worry that a catastrophic event — such as an oil spill or disease — could kill one-third or more of the animals, leaving a nonviable population. It’s distressing to think that humans are loading these animals up with toxic chemicals, which reduce their resistance to disease, then dumping potentially deadly bacteria into the waters around them.

Read more about these findings, including interviews with the researchers, in a story I wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun.

Six Canadian environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against their federal government to protect the habitat of killer whales, including the Southern Resident animals that frequent Puget Sound in the summer and fall.

“This is the first lawsuit ever of its kind in Canada,” said Lara Tessaro, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. “We hope to force the federal government to legally protect the critical habitat of endangered species — like the Southern Resident killer whales.”

Tessaro was quoted in a news release on the Ecojustice Web site and in a story by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The lawsuit covers the Southern Residents, listed as “endangered” under Canadian law, and the Northern Residents, listed as “threatened.” The listing criteria are somewhat different in the two countries. Canadian authorities, like their U.S. counterparts, have officially recognized the whales at risk of extinction.

“DFO’s decision not to protect critical habitat of resident killer whales is symptomatic of the federal government’s widespread failure to implement the Species at Risk Act,” Gwen Barlee, policy director of the Wilderness Committee, said in the news release.

Also mentioned in both the news story and release was Lance Barrett-Lennard, recognized as an expert on killer whales throughout the Northwest and co-chairman of Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team in Canada. Barrett-Lennard said the team has resisted efforts by government officials to remove scientific information from the team’s list of recommendations.

“If the response by the [fisheries] minister stands, it effectively means that nothing has to be done under the Species at Risk Act to protect killer whales, so it’s a hard pill to swallow,” he said in the CBC story.

I placed a call this morning to DFO to see if anybody wishes to discuss this lawsuit. Officials responded this afternoon that they can’t comment because the issue is before the courts.

Backgrounders on killer whales in Canada and in the United States.

It looks like Puget Sound’s killer whales have begun to dip their fins into the waters of Central and South Puget Sound.

As I report in a story for tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun, all three orca pods showed up near Kingston Tuesday morning before turning around and heading back north. I expect their appearance on Tuesday marks the beginning of an increasing presence in the waters where chum salmon can be found until at least Christmas.

By the way, Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, who run Orca Network, are spending some time at Point No Point in North Kitsap to take a look at the orcas, which they expect to swim by on their way along the Kitsap Peninsula.

If anybody wants to stop by and say “hi” to Howie and Susan, they’ll be hanging around the Point No Point Light House until Friday afternoon. They’re staying at the lightkeeper’s quarters avaiable for rent. Howie told me that he and Susan are enjoying their time in Kitsap County.

The Center for Whale Research has reported a new baby orca in L pod, and researchers captured photos within a few hours of its birth.

Newborn calf born to L-47, “Marina.” Photo courtesy of Center for Whale Research

The calf, spotted Tuesday afternoon off the west side of San Juan Island, has been designated L-111, the next number in the sequence for members of L pod. The young animal is the sixth calf born to L-47, a 34-year-old female nicknamed “Marina.” She was one of the 19 whales that visited Dyes Inlet for a month in 1997.

The new calf joins sisters L-83, “Moonlight,” and L-91, “Muncher,” which were other Dyes Inlet whales. Moonlight had a calf, L-110, which was born last year, making Marina a grandmother. Marina’s previous calf, L-107, was born in 2005 but survived no more than a few months, according to researchers at the center.

Because the new mother was observed without a calf Monday evening, the baby could not have been more than a day old when the photos were taken. The orange coloration and “fetal folds” in the skin are evidence of a newborn orca.

The calf is a welcome addition to L pod, which may be missing two animals this year, researchers say. As of December, the population of L pod was listed at 43.

For more information and additional photos, check the Center’s “Encounters” page.

I’m going to bet that the number of “hits” on Orca Network’s “Amazing Photos” page has gone up since this message went out with the daily e-mail alert about whale sightings:

The photo we’d REALLY like to show here is a bit too ‘adult’ — so we’ve posted it on our “ Amazing Photos Page” on our website for those who want to see it!

Here is a description: ‘Amazing (though awfully private) photo of a sexy Orca in front of county campground at San Juan Park.’ taken by Lynn Brevig on August 2nd, 2008. Enjoy!

Can anyone really overcome his or her curiosity and not check out a picture of a “sexy orca.” Whale pornography? Offensive? I don’t think so, but I’m not sure what a whale would think. In fact, I never know what people think. Male orcas do have a surprisingly large organ, but swimming mammals have different requirements from those on land.

Like I always say, this blog is about all things water-related. While you’re at the site, check out the other whale photos on the page.

By the way, this evening is the annual commemoration of the capture of the killer whale Lolita, who is still living in a Miami aquarium, as well as all the other Puget Sound orcas that have died in captivity or have been killed during capture. Check out Orca Network’s “Events Page” for details.

“One of the two oldest killer whales among the Puget Sound pods is missing and presumed dead.

“At an estimated 98 years old, K-7, nicknamed “Lummi,” was the oldest female in K pod and the recognized leader of the 20 whales in the group…

L-7, known as Lummi is missing and presumed dead. Photo by Aileen Ly

“(Ken) Balcomb (of the Center for Whale Research) said Tuesday’s encounter with L pod failed to turn up another missing whale, L-101 or “Aurora.” This 6-year-old animal is the brother of L-98, “Luna” — the orca that gained fame when he spent several years alone in Canada’s Nootka Sound, where he was killed by a boat propeller in 2006.

“Balcomb said he can’t rule out the possibility that Aurora is following the example of his older brother, living alone in some isolated bay.”

This is a small part of a larger story I wrote for today’s Kitsap Sun.

Howard Garrett of Orca Network wrote a tribute to L-7 that I’d like to share, with his permission:

We don’t really know how important K7 was to her extended family these past nine or ten decades. We do know that K7 was a great-great grandmother since 2004 when her great granddaughter K20 gave birth to her great-great grand son or daughter, K38. But there’s no hard evidence to tell us how orcas treat each other or how their roles develop as they grow in wisdom over the years.

After over 32 years of continuous studies based on Jane Goodall’s method called individual recognition, the research community believes that older females guide the entire clan and pass their deep knowledge of habitat and family traditions on to younger generations. K7, aka Lummi, was estimated to be the very oldest of them all. Her calculated birthdate was 1910, making her 98 years old this year, which is essentially equal to J2 (Granny), who lives on at about 97 years old. The next oldest is L25 (Ocean Sun), est. born in 1928, and three other females who were given a birthdate of 1933. J2 and K7 were definitely the elder females of the clan, and now only J2 can be considered to have the longest life and experience among the Southern Resident orca community.

We can only surmise how the other members of her family behaved and felt toward K7. We know that, like humans, females often live on for decades after having their last offspring at around age 40, so it is believed that these mature females must be highly valued by their families for their knowledge of fluctuations in habitat and where and how to find abundant food. But we also know that the Southern Residents’ entire vocal and behavioral repertoires are completely unique and distinct from all other orca societies, and presumably it’s the grandmother class that carries and transmits all these calls, rules, attitudes and traditions to the younger generations.

When every aspect of life, from when and what to eat, when to mate (and with whom), when not to mate, when to split up and travel and when to meet and greet and throw a party, are all determined according to cultural norms, clearly some individuals must play the part of respected guides and mentors.

But our understanding of all those mysterious and intricate interrelationships will have to remain in the realm of informed speculation, because we have no idea what they are saying to one another, and to date there have been no clear observations of discipline or jousting for dominance, or forced behavior of any kind (except when moms corral or command their young ones), and unlike the scars found on humpbacks and sperm whales, there’s no sign that they fight at all.

It’s apparently all done with subtle suggestions based on the profound influence of the longest-lived, most richly experienced females. K7 must have been highly regarded as one of the most reliable sources of traditional knowledge among Southern Resident orcas. May she be remembered respectfully and fondly by humans and orcas alike.