May 2025
Our Salish Sea killer whale sightings map for last month shows that May was all Bigg's killer whales, all the time!
After being present for 20 days in the month of May last year (the highest total in the last 10+ years), the Southern Residents were completely absent this year. This marks the fourth time on record that the Southern Residents have been present for zero days in inland waters in the month of May, and a return to their annual "spring exit" that has become the new normal. Where do they go? Ks and Ls seemingly to continue their winter outer coast travels later into the year than they used to, and our best guess is that Js go out to join them, presumably spending time off the western Strait of Juan de Fuca and off the southwest side of Vancouver Island. The Northern Residents were also totally absent from the Salish Sea for May, which is more expected for them given their historic travel patterns.
On the flip side, we were able to help confirm the presence of Bigg's killer whales for all 31 days in the month of May for the fifth straight year. You can see via the red dots on the map, which represent initial sighting locations of each daily group only, that they made use of the entirety of the Salish Sea from north to south, often transiting through the narrow waters between Gabriola Island and Nanaimo creating that dense cluster of dots in the central part of the map.
The T2Cs, T90s, and T101s were among the more commonly reported groups in the northern reaches of the Salish Sea. All the extended T124 matrilines were around, with the T124A2s, T124Ds, and others making a couple of forays into Indian Arm east of Vancouver. Further south, the T49As, T65As, and T100s were all regulars throughout the month.
We've started taking bets on when the Southern Residents might return. (We were also certain they would throw a wrench into our 10th anniversary weekend plans by making a surprise appearance, but alas, that didn't happen.) Looking back at previous years where they were completely absent in May, their return dates included June 11, June 26, and July 1, so we may yet have a few weeks to wait.
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