North Gulf Oceanic Society
'Residents', the Salmon Specialists
'Residents' should really be called 'loud-mouthed salmon-hungry swim-with-their-mother' killer whales. They might seem like residents when they show up to their favorite fishing hole at the same time every year, but some pods of so-called 'residents' travel 1800km! Like our AF5, AF22, and AG pods that spend most of their time in Southeast Alaska, but are seen frequently in Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords, and Kodiak! Also the L pod in the San Juan Islands makes regular winter trips to the coast of California.
These salmon specialists LOVE salmon, and it makes up a huge proportion of their diet. In our study area in the Gulf of Alaska, our research shows that Chum, Chinook, and Coho salmon are all very important for these large and calorically expensive whales. We have found they they consume a small amount of Pacific Halibut, Arrowtooth Flounder, and a very small amount of Sockeye Salmon. Is it a surprise to anyone that they don't seem to like Pinks very much?
Residents do in fact swim with their mother their entire lives, so when you see a big bull male, he is not the leader of the pack... He is a giant Momma's Boy! He will mate outside the pod when many animals get together temporarily, then its back to live with Mom.
Residents are very chatty, their families/pods can be identified by their calls, check out our acoustics page!
'Residents', the Salmon Specialists
'Residents' should really be called 'loud-mouthed salmon-hungry swim-with-their-mother' killer whales. They might seem like residents when they show up to their favorite fishing hole at the same time every year, but some pods of so-called 'residents' travel 1800km! Like our AF5, AF22, and AG pods that spend most of their time in Southeast Alaska, but are seen frequently in Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords, and Kodiak! Also the L pod in the San Juan Islands makes regular winter trips to the coast of California.
These salmon specialists LOVE salmon, and it makes up a huge proportion of their diet. In our study area in the Gulf of Alaska, our research shows that Chum, Chinook, and Coho salmon are all very important for these large and calorically expensive whales. We have found they they consume a small amount of Pacific Halibut, Arrowtooth Flounder, and a very small amount of Sockeye Salmon. Is it a surprise to anyone that they don't seem to like Pinks very much?
Residents do in fact swim with their mother their entire lives, so when you see a big bull male, he is not the leader of the pack... He is a giant Momma's Boy! He will mate outside the pod when many animals get together temporarily, then its back to live with Mom.
Residents are very chatty, their families/pods can be identified by their calls, check out our acoustics page!
'Residents', the Salmon Specialists
'Residents' should really be called 'loud-mouthed salmon-hungry swim-with-their-mother' killer whales. They might seem like residents when they show up to their favorite fishing hole at the same time every year, but some pods of so-called 'residents' travel 1800km! Like our AF5, AF22, and AG pods that spend most of their time in Southeast Alaska, but are seen frequently in Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords, and Kodiak! Also the L pod in the San Juan Islands makes regular winter trips to the coast of California.
These salmon specialists LOVE salmon, and it makes up a huge proportion of their diet. In our study area in the Gulf of Alaska, our research shows that Chum, Chinook, and Coho salmon are all very important for these large and calorically expensive whales. We have found they they consume a small amount of Pacific Halibut, Arrowtooth Flounder, and a very small amount of Sockeye Salmon. Is it a surprise to anyone that they don't seem to like Pinks very much?
Residents do in fact swim with their mother their entire lives, so when you see a big bull male, he is not the leader of the pack... He is a giant Momma's Boy! He will mate outside the pod when many animals get together temporarily, then its back to live with Mom.
Residents are very chatty, their families/pods can be identified by their calls, check out our acoustics page!
"Transients,' or Bigg's killer whales, are the mammal specialists, and while they often have a huge range compared with residents, they have their favorite hunting spots also. They have home ranges, just a bit bigger. In fact, we have some very 'local' transients.
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They love harbor seals and porpoise, which have a lot of blubber and don't put up much of a fight. Some 'transients' will take sea lions, fur seals, or even larger whales, but this is dangerous work and requires some specialized skills... it doesn't happen overnight!
Offshore killer whales
Offshores are a genetically and acoustically distinct type of orca that specialize in predation on Shark. Here in Alaska, Pacific Sleeper Sharks make up the majority of prey items that we find when Offshores are feeding. Pictured above is a salmon shark in the mouth of an Offshore.
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Currently we are working with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans to publish a new science paper regarding Offshore diet. Over 90% of observed diet has been shark, and the bulk of that has been Sleeper Shark. Also on the list are Blue Shark, Dogfish, Salmon Shark, and far less commonly Halibut, Chinook Salmon, and other fishes.
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Offshores have more rounded dorsal fins at the top and have many small notches. They also be identified by their calls, which allow us to detect them on autonomous year round hydrophones.
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While the population size for Offshores is difficult to assess, DFO Canada investigates the relative rate at which documented and undocumented offshores are encountered. Estimated total numbers of offshores in the North Pacific for 2014 range from 257-373 individuals.