‘Playing' transient whales delight West Seattle crowd
It's a whale of a tale. A pod of Biggs killer whales were spotted near the shoreline on Alki Beach.
This rare, up-close sighting of a pod of Biggs whales happened in West Seattle Sunday, to the delight of hundreds of very lucky people who happened to get a front-row seat.
Turns out they weren't hunting for food. They were playing.
This sighting even surprised seasoned whale chasers. What surprised them was how close they came to the shore in this urban environment.
Transient killer whales were close to shore, apparently having a ball.
It was a sight like no other, a pod of transient killer whales, so tantalizingly close.
'I've never seen them that close in West Seattle ever,' confirmed Kersti Muul.
And that's saying something since this wildlife biologist chases whales and other living creatures for a living.
'I saw them cut across (Elliott Bay),' Muul said. 'They were on a hunt over by Vigor shipyard. And they got the zoomies and they came straight across.'
Muul's chase ended at Alki Beach, to her great surprise.
'I was running,' she said. 'So, I didn't see them come in here. But I saw a guy standing here taking a selfie going down. And I thought 'There's no way they went in there.''
And what were they doing?
'Oh, they're playing with the bird,' exclaimed Jeff Hogan, executive director of Killer Whale Tales, as he recorded the action.
Yup, playing with a seabird, to the delight of everyone, except, possibly, the bird. Muul says the transient whales had been hanging around for nearly a month.
'Sunday was their 28th day in our local waters,' she said.
The possibility of seeing them again brought a steady parade of people Tuesday, including the Hayward family from Maple Valley.
'And we knew they wouldn't still be here but just, you know,' said Eva Hayward.
'On the off-chance,' added her husband.
'Maybe, maybe, maybe, it could happen,' she said, smiling.
But Muul says there is still hope. In fact, she and others track their movements on online platforms that are open to all.
'It'll happen again,' she predicted. 'I just can't guarantee that it will be anytime soon. Or this close. I really feel this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for most people.'
So, boohoo for those of us who missed it.
Muul confirms those transient orcas have left these waters.
But since they don't eat fish, they are no threat to our Southern resident orcas.
They go for seals and sea lions and porpoises.
Here are some links if you want to make sure you don't miss a whale sighting again.
WhatsApp Chat
Pacificwhale.org
Whaleresearch.com
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