In Seattle, after we suppose “whale,” we normally imply “orca.” However native whale watching isn’t truly about recognizing our famed southern resident killer whales, the three pods of salmon-eating cetaceans that had been decimated first by seize within the Nineteen Seventies (together with the late Tokitae, or Lolita) after which by dwindling fish populations. Washington state legal guidelines restrict viewing of the SRKW to just a few hours a day, just a few boats at a time, and solely throughout just a few months of the yr; in 2025 the authorized viewing distance stretched to 1,000 yards, a nautical half mile away.
So does that imply an finish to orca recognizing? In no way, contemplating that Bigg’s killer whales at the moment are a standard sight in our waters. As soon as referred to as transients, these orcas spend numerous time within the Salish Sea, with people as recognizable to boat captains because the SRKWs. Bigg’s whales eat marine mammals like seals and porpoises, and their inhabitants—just a few hundred frequent Puget Sound—is rising at 4 % per yr.
Newly suspected to be distinct species, the 2 crews don’t actually combine. “I consider the southern residents like bats, continually echolocating for his or her meals in the midst of the Sound,” says naturalist EJ Tilt whereas we bounce throughout Possession Sound. “Whereas Bigg’s are like wolves looking alongside the shore.”
Plus, in 1990 a brand new group of sea mammals found us: grey whales. That yr two people, dubbed Shackleton and Earhart, took a Puget Sound detour throughout their migratory path from Mexico to Alaska; now about two dozen grey whales referred to as the Sounders pop by each spring. Humpback sightings have elevated by leaps and bounds since 2000, and even Minke whales pop up typically. As Tilt places it, on a very good day you could find your self in “whale soup.”
