Dozens of killer whales spotted in Lutak Inlet Feb. 17 were likely a resident, fish-eating population and may have been a “super-pod” that sometimes forms in northern Southeast Alaska in April, a NOAA spokesman said this week.
Resident Al Badgley said he and wife Crystal were out walking near their waterfront home at 2 Mile Lutak Road around 9 a.m. when they spotted as many as 45 whales, including large males, females and juveniles.
A group of about 15 seemed to be heading toward town and perhaps twice that many were swimming toward the head of the inlet.
“At some times you could see at least five groups coming up and there were between two or four or six in each of those groups. I’ve never seen that many orcas congregated here before. I’ve seen maybe a half dozen congregated here at a time. It was amazing,” Badgley said. “We figure there were probably 40 to 50 whales total.”
Sadie Wright of NOAA said that’s about the right number of a documented “super-pod” that occurs when a 30-member pod and a smaller pod get together, typically later in spring. Wright said the animals may have been feeding or socializing or both. “They’re very social, gregarious, family-oriented animals. Maybe they got together early.”
Defined by diet, there are three distinct populations of killer whales in Southeast. They eat fish, marine mammals, and rays and sharks, respectively. The Lutak whales were likely fish eaters, who travel in larger groups than transient pods that subsist on marine mammals. The mammal-eaters are stealthy, travel in smaller groups, and aren’t as readily seen, she said.
It’s possible that the Lutak whales were part of the shark-eating population, which typically stays offshore.
Photos of the whales could identify the population, Wright said. “Folks here know them to the individual (whale). They know these whales down to their life histories.”
Photographer Ron Horn planned to send his photos to NOAA Wednesday. Badgley said the whales headed toward town were close to the shoreline. Horn said porpoises he saw in Lutak at the same time didn’t seem to be trying to escape the orcas, suggesting the orcas weren’t from the transient population.