#transient orcas

[mermaids-and-dastardly-deeds]

A pod of Biggs transient orcas

[chasingcoho]

[eddiessidegirl]

this was so fun…i wanna go on another whale watching trip soon..

[snini-9]

April 10, 2021: Transients- Jones Island

I would just like to apologize for not posting these encounters lately, I’ve gotten overwhelmed with life and was taking a small break. On top of that, I was completing a Marine Naturalist Training Program, so as soon as I get 10 hours of volunteering done, I’ll officially be certified as a Marine Naturalist! 

T077A

T049A2

T049A2 and T077A

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #19 - April 10, 2021

[acetheticallynice]

The social structure of Bigg’s killer whales differs from the tight-knit pod structure found in resident populations. Bigg’s killer whales tend to travel as a matriline—a female and her offspring. (DolphinDroneDom)

[merciresolution]

Distinctive orca ‘Chainsaw’ makes rare visit to San Juans

Chainsaw's in the house!

[amandajbphoto]

Transient Killer Whale Pod Off the Coast of Orcas Island || June 2019 (please let me know if you are able to identify any of the orcas)

[ska-ana]

West Coast Transient Orcas Are Booming While Resident Orcas In Salish Sea Struggle

New research shows some of the orca populations that visit the Salish Sea are booming while the orcas who spend most of their time there are suffering. It

New research shows some of the orca populations that visit the Salish Sea are booming while the orcas who spend most of their time there are suffering. It comes down to what the different orcas eat.

Orcas known as southern residents spend most of their time in the Salish Sea — Washington's Puget Sound, British Columbia's Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca separating the U.S. and Canada. Resident orcas in this inland sea only eat salmon. And, since salmon populations are declining, those orcas are starving.

Other orcas travel up and down the West Coast. They eat seals and sea lions, and their numbers have been increasing. Gary Wiles, a researcher for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife who wrote a report about the status of the orcas of the Salish Sea, says that’s thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.