SEATTLE — Six transient orcas made a rare appearance at the Ballard Locks near Ballard/Magnolia earlier this week, drawing crowds of onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the marine mammals.
According to the Orca Conservancy, the transient orcas entered the locks while hunting seals, which had gathered in large numbers to feed on migrating salmon.
To prevent the seals from overeating the salmon population, crews at the locks have been using sound devices to drive them away. But those seals have a significant presence in the water, which drew the transient orcas.
The transient orcas, different from the resident orca pod, feed on mammals instead of the specific Chinook salmon that the residents rely on.
Shari Tarantino with the Orca Conservancy spoke to KIRO 7 this week and said that even in her detailed observations and tracking orcas over the years, she said the trip to the Ballard Locks is unique.
“I’ve been here 15 years, I don’t recall orcas going into the locks,” Tarantino said.
Bruce Elzinga, a Queen Anne resident who came to the Locks on Wednesday, said he tracks orca sightings through an app and also expressed surprise at the event.
“We come here all the time, never seen anything like it,” he said.
Tarantino explained that the Conservancy has tracked a few of the orcas that showed up at the Locks on Monday, and that there are a number of orcas in the transient population that range across a really broad area stretching all the way out to the Pacific Ocean and beyond.
She says the transient population feeds on marine mammals rather than fish such as salmon. She suggested that the orcas do have ways to communicate with one another, especially when seeking prey, comparing them to humans checking out a new place to see if a restaurant is open.
“[It’s like] they told two friends and so on and so on and so on, and we started seeing different populations coming in. So, I do think I like to believe they do communicate, ‘Hey, there’s food here. You got to make a left and come in here’” Tarantino explained.
She says for that reason, she believes they could come back to the locks at some point.
She also stressed that the transient orcas preying on local seals could yield indirect ecological benefits for other regional resident orca populations.
“For the transients to be eating the seals is probably beneficial for the southern residents so there’s more salmon,” Tarantino said.
With the transient population growing and food readily available, Tarantino indicated that future sightings at the location remain possible.
“To me it’s not going to be uncommon that they go in there again,” Tarantino said.
Ken Lawler, a resident of Sammamish, joined the crowds gathering near the water this week in hopes of seeing the animals return.
“I think it was probably very unusual,” Lawler said. When asked about the likelihood of the whales returning to the area, Lawler added, “I hope so.”
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