T170

This evening (6/19) we had a delightful and surprising encounter with a group of 15 Transient Orcas near Beaumont Shoals. At the moment these Transient Orcas have not been identified and may be new visitors to the Salish Sea:) Within he group there was two large males one of which had a very distinctive dorsal fin. We followed the group as they moved swiftly north in Haro Strait and were nearing Lime Kiln Lighthouse when we left them.
Regards,
Andrew Lees, Marine Naturalist, Five Star Whale Watching, Victoria, B.C.

These orcas were identified as T170 and T171, by Dave Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research, San Juan Island, WA - and Rod Palm of Strawberry Isle Research says, " wow! Rare animals for us on the West Coast: we've only seen them twice in over 20 years."



Transient orcas T170 and T171, June 18, 2011
Photo by Andrew Less, Five Star Whale Watching, Victoric, B.C.