NGOS News Archive: 2001

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24-25 December 2001: Christmas Eve Killer Whale Concert, "orcaroling", on Seward FM band

"It was a calm night, but hardly a "silent night", and the animals must have been in the general area of the hydrophone, as reception of the calls was exceptional. I even got excited calls from people in town with questions about what they were hearing on the radio, and apparently they also called their friends and told them to tune in. I'm still getting comments from people and it is still the topic of conversations even now, three weeks after the fact! There were animals heard in the Resurrection Bay again on Christmas day as well as the day after, but they were not heard again for the rest of December."             - Mike Brittain

12 September 2001: VIDEO CLIP!

Chiswell Island Steller sea lions hauled out on Chiswell Island

Matushka (AT109) is at Chiswell Island. People at Alaska SeaLife Center could see it breaching in front of the sea lions hauled out, thanks to the remote video camera*. Here is the video recorded at 0840 this morning. Thanks to SeeMore Wildlife and ASLC for providing this footage. Other video footages of Matushka are available here. *Alaska SeaLife Center has an interactive display that features a live camera feed from the Steller sea lion rookery on Chiswell Island, about 35 miles south of Seward. The feed is sent via microwave from the island back to the ASLC so scientists can study sea lions' behavior in the wild.

4 September 2001: Field update

Wind picks up and we pull anchor at 0300 and head around Cape Resurrection and into the Resurrection Bay in the growing storm. Make it to Seward at 0900.

2 September 2001: Field update, SUPERPOD SUNDAY

On September 2nd, we observed a "superpod" (three or more pods together) of resident killer whales in the wide open waters between Resurrection Bay and Prince William Sound at the northern apex of the Gulf of Alaska. Calm weather between early autumn storms allowed us to follow AJ, AK and AN10 pods for over ten hours. There may have been other unfamiliar whales present as well. About 85-100 whales all toll. This was our first sighting of 20 member AN10 pod this season, and we were excited to document the birth of four new calves in the pod since last year. The last calves to be born to the pod were Chinook (AN56) and Pleiade (AN56) in 1998. We'd like to introduce this year's new calves! Luna was born to Ski Queen (AN10), who's at least thirty years old. Luna's siblings are Juan (AN38), a recently matured male, Tim (AN46), a sprouting male, and Guguak (AN54), who's four years old. Fairfield (named after Cape Fairfield, where we saw the whales) we believe was born to Grace (AN35). Grace has three other offspring, Peaches (AN45), a maturing female, a five-year old Lars (AN50), and Staria (AN40) who's thirteen. Fairfield's grandmother and the pod's matriarch, Delenia (AN9), is at least 45 years old. Fairfield has a new cousin, Driftwood, born to Lulu (AN12). Lulu, Driftwood and Driftwood's sibling Silver (AN51) were extremely playful, approaching the boat repeatedly, swimming underneath us, watching the propeller, getting what we call a "bubble bath" in the boat's wake. Peaches was even more playful and curious. She followed the boat for several minutes at a time, within a few feet of the propeller's bubble bath. We've found that such extreme curiosity on the part of teen-age female killer whales often indicates they are soon to have a new calf. We'll look for Peaches next year to see if our theory is correct. The fourth new calf, Nuchek, was born to a first time mother, Margaret (AN41), who's just eleven years old and is the daughter of Audrey (AN8). AN10 pod is one of our best known resident pods, though we only see them in the latter part of the summer. We had to leave them as darkness fell across the North Gulf Coast of Alaska and with radar and GPS we made our way 15 miles to a safe anchorage.
At dusk we wandered into our anchorage back at Driftwood Bay.

AND IT CONTINUED THROUGH MONDAY...

This morning we emerged from our anchorage in Driftwood Bay on the outer Resurrection Peninsula, we heard reports from the charter fishing operators of killer whales, very close to where we left them last night several miles off of Cape Fairfield. Again we found the AN10s, social and curious, racing up to the boat and following along in the propwash. The turned and headed east and we responded to another report of whales closer to shore. We found the AJs the AKs and some other whales we weren't certain of all headed west making long dives and feeding. On the hydrophone we could hear the wide assortment of calls that identified the different pods. We also heard the echlocation clicks that indicated they were feeding. Unfortunately they were feeding deep and we could not determine what they were feeding on, although we suspect it was coho (silver) salmon, a staple this time of year. When they feed near the surface we can scoop of scales of fish they kill and determine exactly what is for lunch! Much of the day they spent in wide ranging, small groups of mixed pod membership... some resting, but mostly feeding... and of course, there was the socializing that always seems to be a part of superpods. We moved from group to group taking our identification photos, noting the presence of each whale. In the evening they moved all the way up into Day Harbor, a remote fjord that opens into the Gulf. The calm waters and lack of any boats made the recording conditions perfect as we listened to the discrete calls made by these whales (you will be able to listen some of these calls soon). The whales continued to feed through the evening. Calves were playing in nursery groups and occasionally a whale breached near us as we drifted and listened. Small resting groups hung at the glassy surface like floating logs. At head of the fjord glaciers wound down the steep mountain valleys and low clouds played among the peaks. Not another boat in sight for the past two hours and not a town or streetlight for 50 miles. We headed to our anchorage at Driftwood Bay at dusk. Gale force winds are forecast for tomorrow morning.

7 August 2001: Field update

Chiswell Island localization

Today, the Gulf of Alaska transient Matushka (AT109), who's named for one of the Chiswell islands where she's frequently seen, was observed hunting at the Steller sea lion rookery on Chiswell Island. She's been spotted there by tour boats nearby every day for the last two weeks. The sea lion pups born earlier this spring are now active, sometimes playing in the water below the rocks, where she hunts.

Matushka is a very unusual transient. First of all, she hunts alone unlike most transient who hunt in small groups. Secondly, she seems to be a sea lion specialist. No other transient are so regularly and predictably seen in one area. She's seen also for days at a time hunting at the Needle, a Steller sea lion haulout in Prince William Sound. Another unusual trait of Matushka is that she interacts with boats. When she's not slinking along the sea lion rocks, she's often active at the surface, slapping her tail, swimming upside down and breaching near boats.

Last week, Matushka surfaced near one of the tour boats with a small sea lion in her mouth. Visitors of Alaska SeaLife Center can watch for Matushka and observe the sea lions on the remote camera* that's stationed on Chiswell Island.

In late afternoon, we observed a superpod in Resurrection Bay. AG pod, who passed by yesterday heading east, returned with AI pod (who we observed four days ago east of Cape Resurrection). Also traveling a short distance apart from them was a small group of residents we didn't recognize, three large males and two females that were quite shy, diving for eight minutes at a time. When we first spotted them, a fin whale was swimming with them. This fin whale followed the killer whales for several miles.

*Alaska SeaLife Center has an interactive display that features a live camera feed from the Steller sea lion rookery on Chiswell Island, about 35 miles south of Seward. The feed is sent via microwave from the island back to the ASLC so scientists can study sea lions' behavior in the wild.

6 August 2001: Field update

AG pod passed through the Chiswell Islands today. They traveled through a very narrow passage nicknamed "The Grotto", where Steller's sea lions haul out on the rocks. The whales seemed to be "going somewhere" at first, traveling rapidly in two groups. The whales were socializing at first, with calves and juveniles breaching, and two young males chasing after each other and following the research boat for the entire encounter of 4 hours. Then the whales formed a single group, were silent and headed east, toward Prince William Sound. AG pod was last seen in photos taken last week around Elizabeth Island, in the Gulf around the corner from Kachemak Bay. Earlier this summer, they were photographed in southeastern Alaska, and before that, in January in Kachemak Bay. They have the greatest range of any known resident pod. AG pod likes to travel!

5 August 2001: Field update

Matushka (AT109) spotted off Chiswell Island.

4 August 2001: Field update

We observed AI pod about 4 miles east of Cape Resurrection. It was our first encounter with them since last summer. All animals were present, with the juvenile, Junken, very active. This pod is the smallest resident pod, consisting of the matriarch Dorothy (AI3) and her three adult male offspring, her daughter Athena (AI4) and her grand child Junken (AI7). The whales were traveling west, spending a long time below the surface, they sometimes milled and changed direction. When we first spotted them, they were within 100 m of a humpback whale that was being harassed by Dall's porpoises.

22 July 2001: Whales in Sound imperiled

ORCAS: Poisons may be driving unique family to extinction.
Read the article by Doug O'harra, Anchorage Daily News.

 

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