K21, K16 and K35 joined the L47s with L111

Center for Whale Resaerch staff encountered J's, K's and L's traveling southwest from False Bay at 4:52 p.m., August 15 2008. The whales were spread out in tight groups. The first group encountered was the L22's just north of Eagle Point. The next group encountered was the L47's with new calf L111. L47, L83, L91 and L110 were traveling tight with the new calf , exhibiting a lot of social and tactile behavior. L47 was observed pushing L111 around on her rostrum which allowed Center staff to get a photo of the calf's underbelly and determine that L111 is a female. As seen in the above photographs, she still has a piece of her umbilical cord attached. The L47's were shortly joined by K21, K16 and K35 who also appeared to be playing with the calf. The animals were very tactile, rolling around and breaching. J pod as well as the L12's and the rest of the K's were reported in the area but were not seen or documented by the Center staff. The encounter ended at 6:00 p.m., north of Hein Bank. The whales continued traveling southwest.

K7 possible deceased

by Brad Hanson, North West Fisheries Science Center.
K7 in south Puget Sound, December 23, 2007. This photo was taken by the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and is the last known photograph of K7.


K7 also known as Lummi, is estimated to have been born in 1910 making her approximately 98 years old. This makes K7 not only the oldest individual in K pod, but the oldest individual among the Southern Residents since the Orca Survey study began in 1976. J2, the matriarch of J pod is estimated to have been born in 1911, and is the only other individual of comparable age to K7. The average age for a female killer whale is approximately 50 years. However, as in the case of K7 and J2, they do live significantly beyond the average. K7 has been photographed consistently on an annual basis since 1976. The last encounter by the Center for Whale Research staff was on October 30th, 2007. She was last photographed by the Northwest Fisheries Science Center on December 23rd, 2007. She has not been seen or photographed since which makes her officially missing. Although, given her age, it is likely that she is deceased, her possible death will not be made official until she has been absent for one year.

3 June 2008, Center for Whale Research reports:

June 3, 2008
J, K, and L pods
Platform: Orca
Departed Snug Harbor: 10:51 a.m.
Begin Encounter: 11:24 p.m.
Start Lat: 48° 31.981 N
Start Long: 123° 10.009 W
End Encounter: 3:58 p.m.
End Lat: 48° 41.81 N
End Long: 123° 14.51 W
Returned to Snug Harbor: 4:32 p.m.
Observers: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Erin Heydenreich

Having not been seen since January 27, 2008 off Monterey, California, and Sekiu, Washington, February 29, 2008, members of Kpod and Lpod returned to the San Juan Islands June 3, 2008. The whales were first reported off the south end of San Juan Island at around 8 a.m., then slowly travelled north up the coast of the island in tight social groups. Center for Whale Research staff encountered the whales off Bellevue Point as they swam in three large, tight and tactile groups very close to the shoreline. Staff confirmed that members of Kpod and Lpod were among the playful social groups, though it has not been determined yet if all the whales from the Southern Resident population were present. During the encounter a small calf was observed swimming in close proximity to sisters K14 and K16, both reproductive age females. Later in the encounter staff determined that the calf was indeed a new calf in K-pod, and observed the calf primarily travelling very near K14 and her older offspring K26 and K36.