Bigg's orca #Copperfield - swimming in a straight line, with a straight dorsal fin... unlike those in captivity
Personal photo from this past weekend with @orcawild
San Juan Islands, WA, USA
WARNING: These photos may be tough to see, but they provide remarkable documentation of a recent Bigg's killer whale predation event on a minke whale that occurred in the Salish Sea on Friday.
📷: Naturalist April Ryan, @sjiwhalewatch#biggskillerwhales#minkewhale#pwwa
Wildfires created a smoky haze over the Salish Sea this past weekend. The conditions allowed us to capture surreal photos like this one of T2B "Pedder", born in 1979, swimming under a reddish-orange sun.
📷: Captain Jeff Friedman of @sjiwhalewatch#salishseaseptember#pwwa
Most recent episode of After the Breach podcast - we talk to @jeffrey_ventre from the documentary #Blackfish about how the film came to life and how he got involved. We also chat about our recent #whale sightings https://t.co/kBa3Cck3ji
77 men died building it. Not paid off
No fish passage
Devastated salmon, lamprey, steelhead, tribes (Colville, Spokane, Nes Perce) & the Columbia River. Yes it’s an engineering feat. Yes it produces Big power - but it’s not green. Dams kill like a middle cerebral embolic stroke
It's great to see CRC-19275 Neowise back in the Salish Sea! This energetic 2-year-old is currently feeding in the Strait of Georgia after being photographed off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on March 24 of this year.
📷: Melanie Warren, @VanWhaleWatch
#HappyHumpDay! There's another new face (fin?) in the Salish Sea! Naturalist Bethany of @orcawhalewatch got the first photo of BCX1515 "Pawn" and her new calf. We're not sure where Pawn gave birth in winter, but we're glad the duo arrived safely at the summer feeding grounds.🥳
This family portrait features 3 generations of Bigg's orcas. Left to right, we see T109A3 Spong (2009), T109A5 Argyle (2014), tip of the dorsal of matriarch T109A Runaway (1990), T109A4 Garrett (2012), T109A6 Riley (2018), and Spong's calf (2022).🥰
📷: Brendon @Whale_Sightings
Meet K45! On July 9, we met the newest member of K Pod, K45. CWR received word that SRKWS were inbound from the west side of Vancouver Island, and in the group were members of K Pod whom we had not seen since November 21, 2021. https://t.co/bnt9aqQjRk
Have you spotted this unique dorsal fin in the Salish Sea this week? It belongs to T072 "Young", a male Bigg's killer whale born in 1974. Young is named for Young Island in Glacier Bay, AK where he's often seen. His last sighting in this area was in 2017. Great to see him again!
Looks like congratulations might be in order for two new Bigg's killer whale moms! Both T109A3 "Spong" and T36A1 "Tierna" have been seen recently traveling with young calves. If confirmed, these would be the first-known calves for both mothers. Stay tuned... #biggsbabyboom#pwwa
This breaching Bigg's killer whale is T37A1 "Inyo", born in 2007. While not yet confirmed, it's thought Inyo is a female, as a male killer whale should start to sprout, or develop a taller, straighter dorsal fin, between the ages of 12 to 15.
📷: Sam Murphy, @sanjuanwhales
This is what we've been waiting for - long summer days, nice calm seas, and whales galore! Naturalist Sebastian Velasquez of @VanWhaleWatch caught up with Bigg's killer whale T101A "Rush", born in 1993, near Galiano Island, BC. 💙
*Shot with a zoom lens and cropped for detail.