Sightings Report: T65As and T64Bs | May 16th, 2022

May 24

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A group of three whales from the T65A and T64B matrilines surfacing together Date: Monday, May 16th, 2022Location: Dabob Bay, Hood Canal, WashingtonWeather: Partly sunny 61 degrees Fahrenheit with 6mph winds from STide: Ebb/LowPods/Matrilines: T65As, T64BsTotal Whale Count: 9Behaviors: Hunting, socializingBoat Count: 1 (1 whale watch boats)

Today was the second boat trip of the season, and the first with an orca encounter. We sailed with our friends at Puget Sound Express (PSE) who are members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association. PSE is one of the only operators in the central and south Puget Sound area, which gave us an opportunity of a unique trip into Hood Canal, a natural fjord that separates the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas, and stretches a total of 68 miles.The previous couple of days there had been multiple reports of whales. A humpback had been keeping consistent presence in the Tacoma area, and there were a few different Transient/Bigg's killer whales groups had been traveling throughout the Puget Sound area, including Hood Canal. However, this was a new day. The humpback had been spotted in the South Sound once again, but the captain and naturalist of PSE had a strong suspicion that the group of orcas that had been spotted in the Hood Canal area may very well still be there. The crew took a gamble and traveled from Edmonds to Hood Canal, where we found the T65As and the T64Bs.Both the T65As and T64Bs are Transient killer whales, also known as Bigg's killer whales, an ecotype of killer whales that prey on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, porpoises, and more. We found the two matrilines traveling north into Dabob Bay. When we first spotted the orcas, they were split into two groups, with T65A3 Amira traveling separate of the groups close to shore. Upon arrivalthey were traveling quite quickly, and appeared to be in search of prey.After several minutes of watching them, they eventually grouped up into a large group of both pods, giving us some spectacular looks and group surfaces, before breaking out into multiple groups once again. From this point, it was difficult to tell whether or not they were hunting, prey sharing, or perhaps socializing. We saw a couple of playful and socializing behaviors, some slow surfaces and resting behaviors as well.During this point, we had a group of two or three orcas pop up right behind the boat, while a larger group remained on the port side. At one point the orcas came quite close to the boat, so the engines were disengaged and we were lucky to have some close looks and get to hear the sounds of the exhalation of a group doing slow dives.During this encounter, the naturalist noted that the male T56A2 Ooxjaa was dawning some fresh new scars, which we were able to note in some of our photographs. The suspected cause was that he may have got too frisky with a female who gave him some new rake marks (scratches caused by teeth). We also noticed what looked to be some rake marks on the back of T65A2, but cannot confirm if those are new. A few days after this encounter, T65A2 was photographed with another new scar, this one on his rostrum. This scar was not there when we saw him.

Close shot of the new scar located above the eye patch on T65A2. — New scar on T65A2

Many avid local whale watchers from the area will be quite familiar with the T65As, who over the course of the past several years have come to be known as the "resident transients" for their consistent presence in the Salish Sea, with one of their frequently traveled spots being Hood Canal. The T64Bs on the other hand are not frequent visitors to this area, only having been documented in Puget Sound just a few times over the course of several years. It will be interesting to see if they begin to become more consistent in this area.It is always exciting to see multiple family groups of Transients traveling together. When this happens it isn't uncommon for mothers to group up and socialize while the younger members and calves to play together. It has even been observed that Transients seem to have "friends" or matrilines they regularly socialize or travel with. We noted that between the two groups of the T65As and the T64Bs the two offspring in the 64Bs are very close in age to the three youngest members in the 65As. This could be a complete coincidence, but we also wonder if perhaps the offspring of these groups are "friends" or having playdates.During this encounter there was only one vessel present, which was the Puget Sound Express vessel we were aboard. All whale wise regulations were followed. No research or enforcement vessels were present.