TACOMA, Wash. — A pod of orca whales was spotted playing in Commencement Bay near Tacoma.
In a video captured by Colleen Garland, the orcas can be seen near the shore.
There are three types of orcas in western Washington waters: offshore, transient—also called Bigg’s—or the endangered Southern Residents.
It’s not clear which whales were in Commencement Bay, but they probably weren’t Southern Residents.
“Today marks 8 weeks since our last confirmed report of Southern Residents in the inland waters of the Salish Sea,” the Orca Behavior Institute (OBI) wrote on Facebook Tuesday. “Over the last 10-15 years, the whales’ travel patterns have changed.”
Because Southern Resident orcas only eat salmon, environmental factors can play a major role in where they are able to find food. The OBI said in previous absences, “summer heat domes” and high temperatures have negatively affected young salmon.
The OBI said the non-profit believes most of, if not all, of the Southern Residents are off the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
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The J-Pod of Southern Resident orcas was absent from the Salish Sea for nearly four months in 2021, according to the OBI.
“We can only hope we don’t have to wait that long again,” the OBI wrote.