Are there killer whales in the puget sound

Just north of Harstine bridge. At least 3 orca. N 47 They were heading south towards the bridge. We lost sight of them about a mile north of the bridge. W They were viewing from Walker Landing opposite Harstine Island. The orcas at least 2, including smaller one were heading west in the passage at that time. Circled twice. Last spotted headed towards Lagoon Point.

We think too big for an orca. The encounter began at Dave followed along and got a few shots of the trio as they sped towards the channel. Jane had said they had seen a male so Dave figured that T60C and maybe T2B, who often travels with the T60s, would be around somewhere. Around , the trio slowed down about a quarter mile north of Battleship Island. About this time, two more whales, a male and a female, showed up about a half mile north of the others.

Maybe a mother and young. Deep dives, Seem to have turned more westerly with long downtimes. Tug boat passing them. One male. Same spot mid-way through Maury, possibly feeding as fin direction changes. No boats nearby now. No direction near middle of Maury Island.

Seen from south side of Three Tree Point. Small fishing boat with single man nearby. They passed right by a big elephant seal right before they caught something else. See my map [near Quartermaster Harbor]. Northbound towards the Maury Island lighthouse.

Orcas mid channel off Ruston Way. Heading towards the Brown Point Lighthouse. My wife and I watched them till dark with Binoculars. They seemed to be hunting in main channel. They leaped out of water several times.

Our view point was up high on east side of sound close to Steilacoom. Still heading south. Now south of channel marker between Fox and McNeil Islands. They were closer to Tacoma side. Just passing Salmon Beach. Defiance heading towards the Narrows Bridge. They were closer to Tacoma side of channel. It was my first time seeing them! Good pace. Kitsap side. Group spread out.

We are looking for a group of 4 orcas southbound from Presidents Point [Kingston] at Reported by the Victoria boat. She saw the Beluga between Tacoma waterfront and Vashon Island heading southbound , middle of the Sound. Surfacing normally, boat went by and haven't seen since.

Asked about boats: Only in vicinity transiting and didn't even know whale was there. Just off Browns Point Lighthouse. Pretty far out. He is heading out of the bay looks like. Almost straight out from les Davis between les Davis and brown point mid bay. He's heading deeper into the bay. He's in Commencement Bay right now heading towards the naval ships that are docked.

Viewing from the N. Overlook on the Ruston side of the bay. I reported it. He stood out because he's so white! He is also fast so it's tough to get a good photo of. We reported the sighting immediately to the fish and wildlife and other agencies.

Then we watched him for over 45 minutes. At first he was going toward dash point but then turned and started heading towards the navy ships that are docked. Beluga is swimming from Ruston Way side northbound about 1 mile north of two military ships.

There are a bunch of boats. Whale was heading southbound under Tacoma Narrows bridge , mid-channel. We asked level of confidence, and she said certain; and about possibility of Steller sea lion, she said no, whale was bright white.

She's lived here her entire life and never seen anything like this. Whale was bright white, traveling slowly with regular surfacing and diving, could see body of a whale and could see entire time it was underwater.

It's always amazing how far they can travel in a short amount of time. Swimming around, feeding. Breached once. Mostly headed south, but stop to circle, feed. Almost to Green Point.

Mostly milling, very slowly SB. Saw one spy hop. Not the best quality photo, was heavily cropped and zoomed. In my 59 years living here, it was my first!!! Just south of the Narrows bridge. Under the Narrows and along Pt. Southbound from north end of Fox Island.

Defiance heading south through the Tacoma Narrows. There were two very large whales leading the way and three smaller yet large whales together following the leaders.

We almost think there was a 6th smaller whale with them but they were too far away and we did not have binoculars. There were 4 boats observing the pack at significant distances. Amazing encounter. No pics. They were too far away. One large male? They overtook a sailboat, under sail in near calm conditions, 2 of the smaller ones seem to be playing near the bow. The large one came out of the water to at least half its length--i. We were a channel-width apart but it still looked huge. Defiance still southbound into Narrows.

Is that a little fin in front of the bigger fin? Seem to be heading south around the point. Also 13 seals hanging out at Vashon dock. Circling but gradually moving southbound. Didn't see them here but folks said they were more on the Tacoma side. Numbers unknown. Steven's St. Have not seen rest of group. Mid channelish toward Camano. Still loosely grouped. Not closely grouped up but not that far apart either.

Well, that's what whales should be doing, isn't it? After passing Langley northbound at a fairly steady pace, the whales zig-zagged about for a while off Bell's Beach before TA and sibling TD suddenly surfaced close to Fox Spit , their exhalations like bellows, loud and clear. As always, such a welcome treat to see this fabulous family nearby on such a beautiful fall day.

It's absolutely beautiful seeing them surface and exhale in such a tight group in placid waters and soft light. She is viewing from Clinton. Boats have stopped to let them pass. Mid Channel when they passed my house. I saw 3. One large one and two smaller ones. Passing me in Chennault Beach now.

Split up quite a bit. No direction at this time. Headed north. Seeing it from Edmonds. They are with a group of UW students doing studies and have just encountered the beluga on the south side of Commencement Bay , west of the grain loading terminal. Whale is swimming back and forth in the bay, last seen heading south. Schooner Adventuress coordinates at time of call: 47' Animal we are seeing is white so we are wondering if it is the beluga whale.

Have seen it's back come up, hard to ID. Very exciting! Breaching water quickly every few minutes quite a ways out. Seems to be heading north. Too far to confirm direction, but my sense is SB.

Headed SW just off Alki. Heading south close to the Bainbridge side. They're near a sailboat. Viewing from Old Stove Brewing. Lots of tail slapping, 1 full breach. Viewing directly west from Starla Drum View Bench.

Viewing from Elliott Bay Marina. Right off the point heading southbound. One large male, 3 smaller orca sighted, not sure if there was more. The Beluga was between Chinese Reconciliation Park and Thea Foss waterway about meters from the bow of the two naval ships anchored in the bay. Beluga was going back and forth several times. At last sighting the whale was heading away from Thea Foss waterway in NW direction. He did not see the beluga, but today October 7 at heard something.

Whale surfaced a couple of times and then went under, they then lost track. Viewing from office on shore. NO Photos or ID. They've also contacted NOAA. He's moored in the marina and was out salmon fishing in Commencement Bay when he saw a white thing a couple hundred yards away which he thought might the Beluga. The whale came up about times, first time he could see about 4 feet of the whales back, and another time could see about 6 feet of whale's back, whale was snow white, definitely beluga.

Time of sighting was Location was in Commencement, was near the 2 anchored yellow buoys. Just south of Mitchell Bay. Can't tell the direction it's headed. No direction. From Ferry at The group appeared to include two adult males with prominent dorsal fins, as well as one quite small young? It breached, saw the white eyespot and later the much larger, curved dorsal fin, as opposed to the low, flat dorsal fin of the humpback - 2 humpbacks and orca breaching in San Juan Channel , headed north, approaching Yellow Island.

At least one male - moving slowly. But they were also down a lot. They surfaced times and it was still pretty dark. I waited for some time but these were the only 3 I saw. I'm assuming Bigg's Transients. Spotted from Washington Park. Too far out to identify. At Puget sound naval shipyard. First sighting to the tower was reported by a small craft boat off the Nimitz. Drones and hormone-sniffing dogs are helping scientists connect declines in food supply with low birth rates and poor health.

The mysterious practice of killing porpoises may have a useful function, but it has yet to be fully explained, according to orca researcher Deborah Giles. From orcas to starfish to humans, disease affects every living creature in the ecosystem.

Scientists are increasingly alarmed by its potential to devastate already compromised populations of species in Puget Sound.

A paper presented to the International Whaling Commission compares the impacts of kayaks and powerboats on killer whale populations.

A paper decribes how monitoring the energy density of key Pacific salmon species could affect the recovery of northern and southern killer whales through fisheries management. The Salish Sea Hydrophone Network and Orca Network are two citizen science projects dedicated to furthering our understanding of abundance, distribution, behavior, and habitat use by the endangered population of Southern Resident Killer Whales, also called orcas.

The Hydrophone Network lets the public listen for orcas through their computers and phones, while the Orca Network gathers and disseminates sightings of orcas as they move between Puget Sound, the Fraser River, and the Pacific Ocean. A article in the journal Animal Conservation compares the effects of increasing anthropogenic noise to habitat loss for endangered fin, humpback and killer whales in the Salish Sea.

The U. A new paper by Puget Sound area scientists from the SeaDoc Society and their collaborators represents the most complete summary to date of killer whale Orcinus orca strandings in the North Pacific. The authors analyzed stranding records dating back to , obtained from scientists worldwide, finding that very few whales are stranded an average of ten a year over the last twenty years.

However, most of those strandings result in death. A recent report by an independent science panel reviewed data on the effects of salmon fisheries on Southern Resident Killer Whale populations. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Species and food webs , Mammals , Marine habitat , Killer whales , Disease.

Mammals , Harbor seals , Disease , Harbor porpoise , Killer whales. Social science , Species and food webs , Mammals , Marine habitat , Nearshore habitat , Killer whales , Species of concern.

Water quality , Oil spills , Killer whales. Social science , Species and food webs , Mammals , Killer whales , Species of concern. Species and food webs , Mammals , Marine habitat , Killer whales. Balcomb, Ken. Even far from the water, nearly everything that goes down your drain or washes into storm drains and creeks, eventually ends up in the sea. Use less gas. Carpool, use mass transit, ride your bike or walk to help create a cleaner environment for our orcas.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Saving resources makes for a better environment for our orcas—and ourselves. Make informed decisions about the seafood you eat. Choose sustainably caught and harvested seafood. See our sustainable seafood page for guidance.

Follow whale-watching guidelines. Share what you know with family and friends! Together, we can all make a difference for the orcas. Increase your knowledge and support the many groups that are working to save the orcas — and salmon too. Few trips that show off the beauty of the Pacific Northwest on a sunny day as well this one, with views of the city, Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, and even Mount Baker.

Washington is blessed with ridiculous natural beauty that is pretty easy to access—like the San Juan Islands. A full list of tour options, as well as dining and lodging information can be found on the Visit San Juan Islands website.

If a tour is too much or you prefer to go self-guided, one of the best whale watching spots in the world is Lime Kiln Point State Park. This destination is on the western side of San Juan Island and gives you unrivaled views in the whale-friendly waters of the Salish Sea. If you find yourself with a car on San Juan Island, do not miss a chance to swing out to the park—an orca pod could swim right by you. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Seattle An orca leaps out of the water around the San Juan Islands. Filed under: Outdoors. A gray whale near Seattle. Shutterstock Types of whales in the Puget Sound Most Seattle residents will consider it lucky to spot a single whale while in town, but those with an eye to the water may see multiple whales each year.