Endangered Orcas

An orca breaches in Puget Sound west of Seattle earlier this year. Scientists are starting to see exotic orcas, also known as outer-coastal orcas, in Puget Sound, far from their normal habitat along the California coast, Researchers don't know what's attracting them to the sound.

(Associated Press)

Exotic orcas have been spotted making their way into the inland waters along the Pacific Northwest this fall in numbers not seen before, according to whale researchers.

Most of the sightings of these mammal-eating killer whales have been near British Columbia's Vancouver Island and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Seattle Times reported.

The whales, called exotic or outer-coastal orcas, belong to a subgroup that's usually seen off the coast of California. The exotics have not been seen in Puget Sound, where the resident orcas are mainly salmon-eaters.

Mark Malleson, of the Victoria-based Prince of Whales Whale Watching, told the Times that since September, he has spotted the outer-coastal orcas five times — more than he has ever seen in his 18 years in the business.

Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist for the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, said they don't know what's drawing the animals in.

"Frankly, we don't know a lot about the movement of these whales on the outer coast," Hanson told the Times.

An increase in the population of transient orcas could be driving the shift, he said. But so could a boom in the seals and sea lions the whales prey upon.

Malleson conducts whale surveys for the Canadian government and knows most of the local orcas by sight. He's also familiar with some of the transients who regularly cruise through the region, so he quickly recognized the strangers.

"They have a little bit of a different look to them," Malleson said. "They're just a little fatter and sassier."

The outer-coastal killer whales are also more wary of boats than Puget Sound orcas, tend to dive for much longer periods and fall silent before attacking their prey.

While transient whales are thriving off the coast, Puget Sound's resident orcas continue to dwindle. This year's census of 78 animals is the lowest in 30 years, said Ken Balcomb, of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island. The birth of a baby this summer was widely celebrated, but the calf perished within a few weeks.

-- The Associated Press