October 2026
Before we get too far into November, let's check in on our October 2026 killer whale sightings throughout the Salish Sea.
On the Southern Resident killer whale front, they were present for 14 days in October, right on par with their 5 year average. Almost all of the sightings were of J-Pod, with Ks and Ls just being seen in the far western Strait of Juan de Fuca. For the second year in a row, the Southern Residents did not foray into Puget Sound during the month of October. Instead, Js were also seen more often in the central Strait of Juan de Fuca as opposed to further into inland waters.
The highlight of the month was of course the documentation of new calf J65, born to J35 Tahlequah. This little one, her third living son, was first seen in the middle of the month, and bumps the total number of J-Pod whales to 28.
For Northern Residents, the A25s and A42s were seen on 3 days in October, also about the level expected. They made one early visit to the Sunshine Coast in the southern Strait of Georgia, and we hope they'll repeat their pattern of the last couple seasons of being around the Howe Sound area frequently towards the start of the new year.
We were able to confirm the presence of Bigg's killer whales on every day in the month of October for the fourth year in a row, extending our consecutive day streak to over 250 days and counting for 2026. This was thanks to community scientists posting identifiable photos on regional sightings pages, so know that your reports do matter and are being added to our database!
Some notable sightings included T50B1 and T50D traveling with the T49As for a stretch, the T34s and T37s reunited after spending most of the year traveling separately, and T49A2 Jude and T65A3 Amir meeting up (the duo known in 2022 as "the butcher boys"). The T99s also returned to the Salish Sea after a seven week absence, traveling once again without T99B Holly, leading us all to wonder when and where she will show up next!
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