Part 2: An Epic Encounter With the T2Cs

Now that you've met the T2Cs in my previous post, the stage is set for the amazing encounter we had with them from shore at Reuben Tarte County Park!

Perhaps in part because they travel slow on account of Tumbo, when the T2Cs show up they seem to hang around for many days at a time. I actually got to see them three times over the course of five days. First, on March 7th, as they passed Reuben Tarte:

Second, on March 9th as they headed north past San Juan County Park:

But the real encounter for the ages was on the morning of Sunday, March 11th when word came in from a friend of a small group of orcas heading north from near Friday Harbor. When we got out to Reuben Tarte County Park, we were one of the first ones there, but more and more "orcaholics" gathered on the shoreline over the next hour. Blows were visible well to the south and it was clear they were heading in our direction, but very slowly. Before they were anywhere near close enough to ID, I just had the feeling it was the T2Cs again, and that it would be worth the wait.

Watching through binoculars, it was at first the mom and three offspring traveling together with Tumbo trailing behind. As they approached O'Neal Island, however, T2C1 Rocky split off to travel with Tumbo, and they headed out into San Juan Channel while T2C Tasu and her two youngest offspring went inside of O'Neal. The three whales were closer to shore and reached us first, but when they surfaced right in front of us they stalled out. My guess is they either corralled a seal or perhaps pinned one to the bottom, because the two brothers immediately reacted. Both Rocky and Tumbo picked up speed and became surface active on their way towards the others. 

Inverted tail slap from T2C1 Rocky

Rocky reached the group first and my somewhat educated but still wild guess is that he and the others were taking turns pinning the seal to the bottom. Mom and the two youngsters would surface while Rocky disappeared on a long dive, and then vice versa. Meanwhile, as he so often does, Tumbo held back, nearby, but not part of the action. Then, I don't know if the seal bolted or if they already had it, but all of them veered towards shore right where we were all gathered on the rocks.

Heading right for us!

Baby T2C4 did a series of dolphin leaps - always such a cool thing to see from an orca!

They all came in for an ultra-close pass - here are some zoomed out photos to give a little perspective.

And some zoomed in shots of whales, up close and personal!

T2C Tasu

Love it when you can see them underwater!

Underside of a tail fluke

T2C3 Lucy and T2C4 - an amazing perspective to get, especially from shore!

T2C1 Rocky

If we had any doubts about whether their hunt had been successful, our questions were soon answered. Gulls started coming down to the surface to look for scraps, and a bald eagle even swooped down and grabbed a piece of meat from the surface!

Gulls coming in to enjoy the spoils

But the most compelling proof was when one whale surfaced with intestines draped over their back - kinda gives a new meaning to "playing with your food"!

I'm not sure if they made more than one kill or were just enjoying the celebration, but it was clear they weren't in any hurry to go anywhere, and as they drifted a little ways off the rocks, the whole group got more surface active with tail slaps, spy hops, and breaches.

Tail slap from T2C2 Rocky

Just when it looked like they were going to go north, they turned and started coming back towards us. In the end, they were "milling and killing" right off Reuben Tarte for just over an hour!

Big size difference: 16 year-old Rocky and 1.5 year old T2C4

Mama T2C Tasu

They eventually did make their way back south down San Juan Channel, leaving all the human observers breathless on the shoreline. There were smiles all around!

Part 1: Meet the T2Cs

The T2Cs have been spending more time in the San Juan Islands in the last two years, and they have quickly become local favorites due to their unique family history. If you're not familiar with their story, I thought it might be worth a quick recap and an introduction into their current members before continuing with the three encounters I was lucky enough to have with them over the last four days. Because if it weren't for a legendary piece of local history, these whales wouldn't exist today.

T2, also known as the Pointednose Cow, Florencia, and M2, was the presumed matriarch of a unique group of killer whales that became known in the area about 50 years ago. Her family was distinct because many of its members had physical deformities. Her presumed son, T1 Charlie Chin, had a severe underbite. Another young relation, T4 Chimo, was mostly white in color. (It was determined this was due to a genetic disease  known as Chediak-Higashi syndrome.) In 1970, this family was captured in Pedder Bay between Sooke and Victoria with the intent of being sold to marine aquaria for a live in captivity. A month after capture, Chimo and another young whale named Nootka were the first to go, to Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria. Meanwhile, three of their relatives - T1, T2, and T3 remained in Pedder Bay.

These whales of course were marine mammal eating transients, but in 1970 nothing was known about the difference between residents and transients. The whales were repeatedly offered fish, but didn't eat. They became very emaciated, until one of them, T3, died 75 days after capture. Four days later, T1 and T2 finally accepted and ate a salmon - a fact even more remarkable when we consider what we know about the cultural divide between residents and transients today. They began to regain their health as they awaited their transport to Seven Seas in Texas. But in late October of 1970, after more than seven months in the pen, someone sunk the nets and gave the remaining two whales a chance to escape. T1 and T2 improbably regained their freedom.

T2 Florencia went on to give birth to three more offspring: T2A Bajo, a male who was last seen in the late 1980s, T2B Pedder, a still-living female who regularly travels with the T60s and has no living offspring of her own, and T2C Tasu, who would travel with her mother until T2's death in 2009. I was lucky enough to meet the famous Florencia just months before her death when I saw her in Haro Strait in late 2008.

T2 Florencia in 2008

This is also the first time I met T2C Tasu, who had her two oldest offspring with her at that time. Fast forward to today, and both of those sons are still with her!

T2C Tasu and her oldest son T2C1 Rocky in 2008 (top) and 2018 (bottom)

So thanks to the mysterious person or persons who freed T1 and T2 back in 1970, T2C was born in 1989 and now has four offspring of her own. As they've spent more time around the San Juan Islands in recent years I've gotten to know this family of 5, and thought I would introduce them to you one by one before recapping today's epic encounter.

T2C Tasu - born 1989

T2C Tasu - Mother - Notch at the base of her fin

T2C1 Rocky - Born 2002

T2C1 Rocky - Oldest son - Large male at age 16

 T2C2 Tumbo - Born 2005

T2C2 Tumbo - Second born son - Has scoliosis, leading to a curved spine and dorsal fin

 T2C3 Lucy - Born 2011

T2C3 Lucy - Daughter - Lots of scratching and scarring

 T2C4 Unnamed - First Seen 2017

T2C4 Unnamed - Youngest son - Calf of the group

What makes this family so memorable is T2C2 Tumbo, who has scoliosis. Like several of his ancestors, this has led to him being physically deformed, although more severely, as he has a twisted spine. He tends to swim fairly slow, and is unlikely to be an efficient hunter. What is incredible is that his family has supported him to the age of 13. Over the last two years as I've spent more time with this family, Tumbo is often trailing behind the other 4 whales, but each of the others take turns to swim with him, and sometimes the whole family stalls out to wait for him. They don't travel as far or as fast as other groups of killer whales, but they've seemingly been willing to give that up in order to stay together as a family unit. Whenever I've seen them make a kill, some or all of the 4 other whales are involved in the hunt, and then Tumbo comes in to join them for the feasting. It is almost certain he wouldn't survive on his own.

T2C2 Tumbo and T2C4 in March 2018 - the other 3 whales were ahead and the calf was swimming slowly with his big brother

When you just get a glimpse into the lives of these whales, who live underwater in a world so alien to our own, sometimes it can be hard to see their intelligence or complex social systems. It's through long term observation that these aspects of their being are more apparent, but with the T2Cs, a single encounter with them immediately reaches the heart. The compassion, caring, support, and - dare I say it? - love this family shows for one another has found them a spot in the hearts of all who are lucky enough to meet them. 

Now that you have an idea of who these whales are and what their incredible family history has been, the stage is set for my next blog post where I will share my Sunday morning encounter with them that lived up to the word "epic".

October 28-31: An Abundance of Salish Sea Wildlife

The weather this October has just been spectacular, right up through today, the last day of the month. We've had a few windy days and some heavy rain, but the number of clear, sunny days is certainly more than I remember having in recent years. This has provided a lot of opportunity to get out and enjoy this amazing place we live, and in the last few days the wildlife viewing has just been awesome.

On the evening of October 28th, we went out to Lime Kiln for sunset and enjoyed seeing all kinds of bird life passing by over the flat-calm seas.

Great blue heron

Tranquil autumn sunset

On the evening of October 29th, the transient killer whale family the T2Cs were making their way up San Juan Channel. A friend offered to let us hop aboard their boat out of Friday Hrabor, and the result was another memorable sunset!

T2C1 Rocky

When we had a view of Mt. Baker, we got two photo ops of two different cetacean species under the mountain. First, the orcas....

T2C1 Rocky under Mt. Baker

And then a pair of humpbacks passed by heading in the opposite direction!

Humpback whale under Mt. Baker

Then when we were stopped to get our last look before heading back to port, the whales surfaced after a dive right off our bow. 

T2C2 (the whale with scoliosis) and calf T2C4

Calf T2C4

The sunset on our way in

Then on October 30th (my birthday!) we took a hike down at Cattle Point. We came across a harbor seal with a huge salmon.

Nearby was a pair of river otters who were chowing down on forage fish. When one of them caught a larger rockfish, they both came ashore for a bit.

Otter on the upper right has a rockfish

While watching the otters, we also saw some harlequin ducks in perfect lighting.

Then today, the 31st, the sun continued and the waters were calm so we headed out for an afternoon boat trip. We originally thought we might see some sea lions, but they were the only thing we didn't see! We did find several groups of Bonaparte's gulls, which are one of my favorite birds to photograph.

This one has a little shrimp-like creature

A lot of the other winter birds are back too, including bufflehead, red-necked and horned grebes, and surf scoters. But the species that stole the show was a total surprise - the harbor porpoise! Don't get me wrong, I like harbor porpoise just fine, but more often than not they are very difficult to view. You may get just one or two glimpses and then they're gone. The one exception is when you get a large group actively foraging, and today we found just that with more than 100 of them off Green Point on Spieden Island. There were porpoise surfacing in every direction you looked.

We even saw some porpoise porpoising in the distance!

We shut down for a while to listen to their "chuffing" blows, and were rewarded with several close looks.

I've never seen (or photographed) a harbor porpoise swimming straight at me from such close range!

So concludes another beautiful month in the Salish Sea!

No Rs - But Ts, Ts, Ts!

As the days continue to slip by with no sightings of the Southern Residents (since J-Pod last departed on June 1st), this year is beginning to feel more and more like the summer of 2013 when the Southern Residents were conspicuous only their absence. Despite the fact that we keep hoping for reports of the whales returning to inland waters, the lack of sightings should come as no surprise. Not only are we one 4-year salmon cycle from the dismal year of 2013, but one glance at the Chinook salmon test catch data for the Fraser River shows how low the numbers are. They've been doing regular test catches since the end of April and in all that time have caught less than 10 fish - it's a jaw-droppingly low number.

All we can do is hope they're finding food wherever they are hanging out and continue to advocate for what these whales need - more fish. In the meantime, it's impossible not to enjoy our new neighbors, the transient killer whales. Whether by coincidence or not, as the Southern Residents have become more scarce, the transients have become more abundant, and the last week in particular has been phenomenal. At the Orca Behavior Institute we've had six encounters with them in the last five days.

On June 7th, a large group of transients headed across Haro Strait and as they headed north one group broke off from the rest - the T2Cs. These are a fascinating family group for several reasons. For one, they're descendants of the famous marine mammal-eating whale T2 Florencia, who along with T1 Charlie Chin ate fish after 79 days of starvation in captivity. They had already been sold to marine aquariums when someone lowered their nets and freed them in the middle of the night. Secondly, T2C Tasu is the mother of four living offspring, including T2C2 Tumbo who is a twelve year-old male with scoliosis. 

One of the youngest members of the regional transient killer whale population - calf T2C4

His survival to this point, despite obvious physical deformation, is a testament both to his will to live and the altruism shown by his family. He is regularly seen trailing slowly behind the rest of his matriline, as he was when we encountered them. But when we saw them stop to make a kill, he came to join them in the feasting.

The T2Cs on the hunt

T2C2, the male orca with a deformed spine, did not participate in the hunt, but did come over for the feeding

The hunt itself was an amazing thing to watch as my best guess is that the T2Cs pinned a harbor seal on the bottom, as after an extended time of surfacing and diving together, they started diving in alternate pairs, possibly to drown the seal while they took turns breathing. They were circling in the same spot for a long time and it was impossible to tell which way they would end up traveling; when they continued on their way, we were lucky enough to get a close pass. We know cognitively that orcas are big animals, but it hits you in a different way when you see one dwarf you and your boat:

A close pass from T2C Tasu

T2C1 Rocky and calf T2C4

On a couple of days, we've also gotten to see the T65As off the west side of San Juan Island, and in both cases they spent time in resting formation. This shot was taken from Land Bank in the rain, which along with the calm waters made for a memorable encounter.

The T65As resting in Haro Strait

On the morning of June 9th, word came in of a large group of inbound whales heading for San Juan Island. My first thought was, "Residents?!" I luckily got to the west side right as the whales did, and for 15 minutes had a magical moment where there were no boats on scene and no people with me on the shoreline as they approached.

A big group of whales, close to shore rounding Edwards Point, surfacing a lot and milling - I thought it might be residents, until I got a look at the dorsal fin on this male on the left (click to see a larger version with all his notches):

Not only was this not a Southern Resident, this was a whale I knew right away I had never seen before! Turns out it was T170, a rarely encountered orca. I heard this ID while the whales were still in sight, but who were all the other whales with them? For the moment, it didn't matter, and I just took in the tranquil morning encounter.

Later though, of course I did want to know who all was there. My friend and OBI partner Sara and I spent some time pouring over the transient photo ID catalogues, and were able to identify both some more common local visitors in the T36As and T49C as well as some more "exotic" whales in T172, T117A, and T117B. The T117s in particular were tough to figure out. As far as I know, they've never been seen here in local waters, and have changed a fair amount since their ID photos in the 2012 version of the catalog I have. For one, T117A was thought to be a female and now has a fin sprout! Here's a comparison of their ID catalog photos and my heavily cropped photos of them from June 9th to give you an idea of how we figured out who they were.

T117A: broad fin, "dent" on the front edge of the fin, skinny left side of saddle patch
T117B: Nick at the top of fin, "bump" on saddle patch with unique shape

It was a fun puzzle to solve, and it's always exciting to "meet" some new whales! They were going slow enough that I ran from Land Bank to Lime Kiln, but unfortunately by the time they got there they had pulled way offshore. They continued north throughout the day, and while the "regulars" hung around for the next day, the "exotics" kept on going north and out of the Salish Sea.

That doesn't mean the T encounters were over, however! The T2Cs seemingly took up residence in San Juan Channel for 3 days, and last night, on June 10th, we headed out for an evening encounter near Waldron Island. 

T2C1 Rocky

The whales were slowly moving north and the lighting was gorgeous. Again, T2C2 Tumbo, the male with scoliosis, was trailing behind the rest of his family. It tugged at the heart strings for sure when, on a couple of occasions, his big brother T2C1 Rocky broke off from the others and came over to spend some time with him.

Brothers T2C2 Tumbo (left) and T2C1 Rocky (right)

The other three whales went over to harass some seals hauled out on a small rocky outcropping. I don't know how shallow it was right there, but it was amazing how close the whales were able to get to the seals - close enough to scare the gulls off the rocks! One seal even panicked and slipped into the water, but amazingly the whales, who seemed like they could have practically grabbed the seals right off their haul out, seemed to move on without eating anything.

Scary moment for some harbor seals on a small rock (left) as T2C3 Lucy moved away from them

As the sun sank towards the horizon it was hard to leave, as the lighting just got more magical.

T2C1 Rocky

One of my favorite shots of the night - the T2Cs under a sundog

Eventually, we did turn south and head home to port as the whales headed north towards Canadian waters. The boat ride home was gorgeous and I couldn't help but wonder, "What will the next week bring?"