Orcas Return Early To Puget Sound

Tuesday, March 7, 2006
BREMERTON, WASHINGTON - Two orca pods have made a surprise late-winter appearance in Puget Sound.

The K pod and a portion of the L pod were spotted near Olympia last week. Once the whales leave for the winter, they don't usually return to Puget Sound until late May or early June.

A March appearance of L pod has never been reported, and some researchers say it is further evidence of strange and dangerous conditions in the Pacific Ocean.

Of Puget Sound's three orca groups, only J pod can be expected to be in and out of local waters throughout the winter.

K and L pods apparently left the state's inland waters in December, which is earlier than the past few years. In recent years, they've been spotted along the Washington and Oregon coast, and as far away as San Francisco.

Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective said orca travels are generally related to the availability of food. They may be hunting immature chinook salmon that stay in Puget Sound all year or possibly steelhead, which migrate in the winter.

Puget Sound's orcas - which number fewer than 90 - were listed last month as an endangered species.

Source: KOMO TV