The A62s were last heard in Johnstone Strait in the early hours of October 18th. This day turned out to be a very stormy one on Hanson Island and only the sound of waves and occasional humpback vocals could be heard on the hydrophones. The next day at 3:58pm, after 36 hours of “silence” on our systems, the distinctive calls of the A34 matriline were back again. They were vocal in Blackfish Sound until 6:40pm. Since October 9th, the only Northern Residents, the A62s, have been present in the area. A62, Misty, born in 1994, is A34, Simoom’s daughter and recently she has been traveling separately with her four boys.
On October 20th, Jérémie and Jianna went to Strider Rubbing Beach to remove the underwater camera in order to keep it safe from the winter storms. This camera has been such a great success this season and we look forward to reinstalling it next year!
At 12pm, three orcas were reported travelling west in Johnstone Strait off Cracroft Island. By 1:51pm they were located on the remote Cracroft Point camera. At about the same time, there was echolocation and A34 calls in Blackfish Sound! Twenty minutes later, the three Bigg’s orcas came in from Johnstone Strait appeared in Blackney Pass. We soon recognized the dorsal fin of T019B. He was travelling with his brother T019C and their mum T019. Last we saw the T019s was on October 11th, very close to the lab. On both occasions, there was no sign of T018. They cleared into Blackfish Sound at 2:46pm. Meanwhile, the A34 calls were still registering in the same area until 6:20pm.
The passage of the T019s happened just before Jianna, Nora and Tjasa departed the Lab and was welcomed as a farewell sign. We are immensely grateful for their help and will miss them dearly.
