On Saturday April 8th we got word from our American associates that a group of killer whales were milling off of Partridge Pt.(the west side of Whidbey Island).
We had a fortunate group of whale watchers which had decided to head out on a late afternoon trip shortly before we got the information.
We took the run out east and found a group of 5 transient killer whales hunting an immature male steller sealion. After watching the whales ramming and leaping on the lion for over an hour they succeeded in immobilizing and drowning him. We had been keeping an eye on a mature bull killer whale who was lurking around on the outskirts during the hunt which we later identified as T14 (better known as "Pender" by the whale watching community) who is a single male transient which we see fairly regularly throughout the year. Although he was not involved in this hunt, it looked as though he was joining the hunting party for scraps as we were departing the scene.
The other killer whales were later identified as the T49's and T65's who are better known from south-east Alaska.
Mark Malleson
(Prince of Whales skipper)
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