Orca Behavior Institute

09/07/2026

A unique quartet of whales made their way down San Juan Channel this morning:

T63 Chainsaw
T65 Whidbey
T65A3 Amir
T137A Jack

It was an impressive sight to see one of the oldest living Bigg's killer whale females traveling with three adult males!

Amir, who had his uncle and grandmother in the group, was the first to break off. Later on, Jack broke off, too. We find these type of social associations - whether or brief like today or longer term - endlessly fascinating. For example, when they were all four together, we saw T137A, the only unrelated whale present, traveling in closest proximity to T65, the post-reproductive female. What could the relationship be like between the two of them?

Did you get to see them today? If so, we'd love to see your photos in the comments!

09/05/2026

It has been a lovely start to September in the Salish Sea with members of all three Southern Resident killer whale pods already paying a visit, including Js making an early season foray down into Puget Sound.

Yesterday afternoon, J-Pod headed north out of Admiralty Inlet and a few of them reached San Juan Island before it was too dark to see. Here's J62 - already almost two years old! - zipping her way up the west side at dusk.

09/03/2026

Mark your calendars: OBI's online fundraising auction is coming up later this month from September 23-27!

As always, we've curated a spectacular selection of items and experiences for you to bid on, including:

➢ Whale-watching and kayaking trips
➢ Pacific Northwest food and beverage packages
➢ Unique orca artwork
➢ Signed books
➢ Items from the OBI vault and new never-before-released merch 👀

We will let you know when the full list is ready to be browsed!

09/02/2026

This guy has been getting a lot of attention of late, thanks in large part to his recent spree of breach fests! This is T137A Jack, a 24 year-old adult male Bigg's killer whale. I got to see him on Monday afternoon, when this photo was taken from the west side of San Juan Island. I thought it might be a good time to post a few details of his recent travels!

T137A has been seen primarily with T36 and the T36Bs. T137, Jack's mom, is thought to be the daughter of T36. That means he's been traveling with his grandmother, aunt, and cousins! He's also spent time alone and with other matrilines such as the T46B1s, T65Bs, and T77s. This is all typical behavior from a roving male. Jack has temporarily dispersed from his matriline before (famously during Jack's Summer Camp in 2023), but this is the longest stint he's been documented away from his mother.

So where are the rest of the T137s? Good question! They were last seen in the Salish Sea on June 9th. They're a matriline that, like many others, often takes a hiatus from visiting the Salish Sea in June, July, and/or August, though this year is one of their longer ones. Usually they are back by some point in September.

It will be very interesting to see when the T137s return, and also if it's still just the three of them! Both of Jack's younger sisters T137B (at age 20) and T137D (at age 14) are of reproductive age, so there's a chance there could be a new calf with the family. Sometimes, the birth of a calf seems to prompt an older family member to disperse. -MWS

While we wait to see how this story continues to unfold, you can learn more about the T137s on our meet the matriline page here:
https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/meet-the-matrilines/t137s

09/01/2026

Artificial intelligence is an emerging and unavoidable key issue within the field of scientific inquiry and in our society at large. With many ethical, safety, accuracy, and environmental considerations, we believe it's important to be transparent about how we as an organization will make decisions about our use of AI.

The following AI policy was adopted by our Board in August 2026; you can read additional details about each of these points as well as see our organizational guiding principles at this newly launched page on our website:
https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/what-we-stand-for

08/31/2026

It's back to school season, so we thought we would add a little levity to your Monday by checking in with our Bigg's killer whale class of 2026....

Do you agree with these senior superlatives? Which other ones might you add? 😜

08/31/2026

This was our fourth summer spending a bit of time on the water out of Telegraph Cove, and after the A34s, the group of killer whales we've seen the most over the years is the T60s!

This map shows the approximate locations of all of our encounters with members of the T60 matriline over the years as well as who they were traveling with.

As if on cue, while we were preparing this post, guess who showed up in the Salish Sea? Yup, the T60s! We had our first Salish Sea encounter with them yesterday right outside of Friday Harbor.

It's interesting to compare of how the same family group of orcas spends their time in two different geographic locations. One thing that's different? The T60s often go after Dall's porpoise up north, a species they won't come across as often these days in the Salish Sea. One thing that's the same? The T60s have a penchant for going into very shallow waters in both regions! -MWS

08/29/2026

A peaceful interlude for your weekend with some clips of the recent visit from Js and Ks 🥰

08/29/2026

J- and K-Pods made their way up to the Strait of Georgia on the evening of August 26th and came back south the next day. By the time made it back to San Juan Island, it was getting too dark to see, but we did get to hear them on several of the Salish Sea live-streaming hydrophones throughout the course of the afternoon and evening.

In this short clip from the SIMRES hydrophones in Boundary Pass on August 27th, you can hear the incredibly loud and clear calls from some very chatty whales! 😍

This morning, Js and Ks were heading back west out the Strait of Juan de Fuca, continuing the pattern from all of their brief visits this summer of doing one quick lap to the mouth of the Fraser River and then leaving. Once in June and now several time sin August, it's been: in, up, down, out. We hope they're enticed back for a longer stay soon! -MWS

🔎 You can find links to all the live-streaming hydrophones here:
https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/orca-acoustics

A clip of loud, clear vocals from Js and Ks off the SIMRES.ca hydrophones in Boundary Pass, BC

08/27/2026

🎶 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠, 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑇𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 🎶

It was music to my ears to hear about a large group of spread out whales inbound towards San Juan Island this morning! Having missed their only two short visits in recent months, I was beginning to wonder if I might actually go an entire summer without seeing Southern Residents first hand. Thanks to J- and K-Pods coming in this morning, that didn't happen!

It was a westside shuffle kinda day, with the 42 whales ultimately heading north towards the Strait of Georgia. Here are a few photo highlights taken from the shores of San Juan Island. -MWS