On January 29 approximately 50 members of K and L pods were spotted in Monterey Bay, California, feeding on salmon. This is the first known sighting of members of the Southern Resident Community that far south.

Normally, K Pod disappears in November from the Salish Sea and is not seen again until May or June. But on January 7, K Pod was seen off Vashon Island in Puget Sound. (On two occasions in the last 24 years they were identified briefly in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in March.) Never before have they been identified in the Salish Sea in January.

It is also notable that the orcas managed to travel from Puget Sound to Monterey Bay in a maximum of 22 days!

If you want to see photos of the whales in Monterey, taken by Nancy Black and colleagues, click here.