Submitted by the Pacific Whale Watch Association
They’ve been called the most mysterious of all the ocean’s apex predators. But according to Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) crews, transient or Bigg’s killer whales are becoming familiar visitors to these waters.
“I remember Dr. John Ford (head of the Cetacean Research Program at the Pacific Biological Station) telling me at least 10 years ago that by this time we’d start seeing an influx of transient killer whales in the Salish Sea, and he was right,” explained Capt,. Mark Malleson of Prince of Whales Whale Watching in Victoria, who also is a contract researcher for DFO Canada and the Center for Whale Research. “Sure enough, we’ve had record sightings of Bigg’s whales in these waters the last several years and we just may top that this year. And we’re now seeing many of the same individuals every year stick around the area for a while. Some of the transients are almost becoming ‘resident transients’ – the T065As for example were reported over 40 days in the Salish Sea in both 2014 and 2015.”
“They’re not so ‘transient’ anymore,” explains Michael Harris, Executive Director of PWWA, which represents 36 operators in Washington and British Columbia. “Their range is huge, from Alaska to California, so they’ve got quite a commute, but these waters are very much part of their home now. It’s sorta like living in a big house but spending a lot of time in the kitchen.”
And what a kitchen the Salish Sea has become – scientists and whale watchers report a boom in the pinneped (seal and sea lion) population here, and that means a set table for the Bigg’s. Many sightings from PWWA crews involve witnessing some part of a predation event, one of the most spectacular and awe-striking shows in nature. And it’s not just pinnipeds, or porpoises, another favored prey. In early April, a PWWA crew even reported a young transient killer whale attacking two 40-ton gray whales in Puget Sound.
A transient hunt begins in stealth. Unlike the region’s resident, fish-eating orcas, the Bigg’s are all business at mealtime, coming onto the scene swiftly, in small groups and without a sound — lest they tip off a targeted seal or sea lion, which have well-developed survival skills and are difficult and unwilling victims. Up until recent years, transients were rarely seen anywhere near residents, but now it’s fairly common to encounter both ecotypes on the same day –- sometimes in the same area.
There are about 320 individually indentified transient killer whales along the west coast of North America. The relatively abundant and seemingly increasing prey resources here for the transients are in stark contrast to forecasts for our 84 endangered wild Southern Resident orcas, who face declining salmon supplies as they rebuild their ranks.
“As we say, if you’ve got fish, you’ve got blackfish – the rezzies (Southern Resident orcas) – and since we’ve got lots of seals and sea lions now, we’ve got the Bigg’s,” continues Harris. “And even though the transient killer whales carry the highest load of toxins of any marine mammal on the planet, even higher than the resident orcas, they seem to be doing pretty well. Fat whales, lots of babies, no gender imbalance in the calves, behavior that indicates the population is thriving. It’s proof that if we get food in the water for these orcas, we can buy some time to deal with these other threats.”
HOW TO HELP: For all those who want to support research, contact the Center for Whale Research at www.whaleresearch.com or Cascadia Research Collective at www.cascadiaresearch.org. Help them help the whales.
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