u/Jayjayfoshizzay

It’s been a busy year so far and we’ve had so many great Bigg’s killer whale encounters here in the Salish Sea! I wanted to share some of those encounter highlights that we’ve had at the Orca Behavior Institute (OBI) and so I put this video together which also includes a hydrophone recording that we got of a fantastic and very vocal group in San Juan Channel that included: T86A1s, T86A3, T90s, T100E, T124A4s.
Hope you enjoy! 😊

At the very end of May my wife and I hopped aboard the Alaska ferry 'Kennicott' in Bellingham, marking the beginning our 4 night journey to Haines, Alaska.
It's hard to describe the trip in words. The scenery the entire journey was beautiful and raw.
Some highlights for us were spotting wildlife such as:
Grizzly bears, Northern resident killer whales (A42s), a Minke whale and many Dall's porpoise that would randomly appear out of nowhere and zip across the bow of the boat.

I put together this video which is a compilation of our favorite moments along the way.
I hope you enjoy!

https://reddit.com/link/1tqtin7/video/a8f6ldt4u04h1/player

For anyone familiar with Orca Action Month here in the Pacific Northwest, the month of June is dedicated to raising awareness of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population, and provide the public with knowledge about who these unique whales are and to give people with the resources and inspiration needed to be able to take action on their behalf.

I just wanted to share what we at the Orca Behavior Institute are up to this year, which is a rather ambitious and exciting project. Monika summed it up in our Facebook post which I'll paste below, but also feel free to check out the included promo video in this post.

"The Southern Residents have now been on the endangered species list for just over 20 years, an anniversary that quietly came and went at the end of last year. They spend far less time in the Salish Sea than they used to, but even if they are out of sight, they are never out of our minds.

To help raise awareness of the fact that after two decades, they have yet to show signs of recovery, I had a wild idea. What if we built 75 life-sized dorsal fins, one for every living Southern Resident orca? What if when people saw one, they were inspired to learn about the whale behind it?

We asked, and the OBI community responded. Beginning June 1, 75 dorsal fins made out of wood, paint, cardboard, glass, metal, fabric, and more will be on display throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Each one will have a QR code leading to a brand new page on our website that highlights the plight of the Southern Residents and the key actions needed to reverse their continued population decline.

The passion and creativity invested in this project have been inspirational. This reel is just a teaser of all the work that has been going on behind the scenes, as dozens of people have donated time, materials, and space to make this vision a reality. For the entirety of the month of June - Orca Action Month - we will ensure the story of the Southern Residents is front and center. -MWS

You can learn more about the project, the whales, our research, and the hope for the future here:

https://www.orcabehaviorinstitute.org/southern-resident...