||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH |||
Encounter Report
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ObservBegin: 02:36 PM ObservEnd: 03:44 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Michael Weiss Other Observers: Charli Grimes, Lily King, Rachel John, Aspen Kendrick-Cisneros Pods: Bigg’s killer whales IDsEncountered: T35A, T35A1, T35A1A, T35A2, T35A3, T38A, T38A2, T38A3 LocationDescr: San Juan Channel and President Channel |
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EncSummary: The team had received reports of the T38s and T35s making their way up San Juan Channel, and since they hadn’t documented this group yet in 2026 and they had new calves, they decided to head out for a combined photo-ID and drone observation encounter. When the team arrived at 14:36, the whales were in a tight resting group making their way out of the northeast side of San Juan Channel, spending long periods of time at the surface. The team quickly got the drone in the air and conducted a brief photo-ID pass on the group’s left side. The whales’ behavior changed after a couple of surface sequences, and they began taking longer downtimes and travelling faster. As they made their way into the more open water between San Juan Channel and President Channel, the team switched sides and did one more photo-ID pass on the whales’ left side. With the wind picking up, they ended the encounter at 15:44. After reviewing their photos, the team noticed an extra calf in the group that they had not expected, accompanying T35A1. This calf looked very young based on its size and the presence of clear fetal folds. |
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