June 10 2023

Yesterday was a BIGG day in the Salish Sea! Thanks to all our partners from north to south, we were able to help confirm a whopping 15 different groups of Ts in the region totaling at least 78 whales. 13 of the groups were identified, while for two of the groups (represented by the gray dots) we only know that they were Bigg's and not who specifically was present.

You can see many of our usual Salish Sea matrilines like the T18s, T49As, and T65As were in attendance, as were some less common visitors like the T46Cs, T85s, and T117A (not 117B as misstated on the map) with T172.

We often joke that after days like yesterday, the whales will magically vanish the next day, but there's some truth to that! By this time (14:00) yesterday a dozen groups of orcas had already been reported, while today we only know of a pair of Ts at the very north of the Salish Sea near Campbell River and the T65As at the very south of the Salish Sea deep in Hood Canal. That means at least 67 whales that were here yesterday have yet to be accounted for today!

This is one reason whale tracking is so fascinating: every day is truly different and you never know what to expect.

As always, thank you to our multitude of community scientists partners including Orca Network, the Pacific Whale Watch Association, and regional community sightings pages on social media for making these types of maps possible!

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