Whale researchers say it’s unprecedented that the southern resident killer whales are nowhere to be seen this year. The whales (J, K and L pods) are usually feeding on chinook salmon in the Salish Sea by July but so far this summer, the whales haven’t been seen in the area at all except for one visit by J pod, in a brief lap around San Juan Island one day in early May. They immediately left, and no one’s seen any of the pod members since.
Despite their name, the southern residents often roam widely — as far as California’s Monterey Bay and southeast Alaska but their core habitat is around the San Juan Islands and southern Vancouver Island at this time of year. Let’s hope these majestic whales are spotted soon.
