Mysterious pod of killer whales never seen before visits Seattle

When tourists question to Seattle, it's communal to instrumentality successful the Space Needle and the downtown skyline from Puget Sound.

It's an itinerary that a recently arrived pod of killer whales appears to beryllium pursuing too.

Three orcas that had not antecedently been recorded successful the Seattle country person delighted whale watchers with respective visits conscionable disconnected downtown this past month. They've besides cruised by different shorelines successful the region.

"People ... are each precise blessed to spot this," said Hongming Zheng, who photographs whales successful his spare time. It took him 10 hours of driving to find the mysterious pod. "It was epic."

This photograph provided by Hongming Zheng shows 2 slayer whales, portion of a pod of orcas that had not been seen successful the Seattle portion before, swimming adjacent Dash Point, Wash., connected March 26, 2026.  Hongming Zheng / AP

Researchers support elaborate records of slayer whales that predominant the Salish Sea, the waters betwixt Washington authorities and Canada, by identifying their fins and saddle patches - the grayish markings connected their sides.

So it was a astonishment erstwhile this pod of 3 orcas showed up successful Vancouver, British Columbia, successful March. The 3 weren't successful immoderate catalogs of section whales.

After immoderate digging, researchers located photos of the pod successful Alaska waters past year, said Shari Tarantino of the Washington-based Orca Conservancy. The pod includes an big pistillate and what are believed to beryllium her 2 offspring, including a ample young big male.

They person present been designated arsenic T419, T420 and T421 - the T lasting for "transient," not "tourist."

The visiting orcas person thing that section whales don't: circular scars near by cookie-cutter sharks, which latch connected to larger animals and portion a chunk disconnected them. It was grounds they've spent clip successful the unfastened ocean, due to the fact that that's wherever the sharks live.

"We don't cognize their nonstop root with 100% certainty yet, but the starring proposal is that they're from Alaska, perchance the Aleutian region, fixed their quality and the information that immoderate Alaskan populations scope wide crossed the North Pacific," Tarantino wrote successful an email.

As for wherefore these 3 are thousands of miles from their location range? Tarantino said it's imaginable they're connected a culinary tract trip. This pod feeds connected oversea mammals - dissimilar the endangered salmon-eating nonmigratory orcas - and determination are plentifulness of harbor seals, oversea lions and porpoises successful the Salish Sea.

"They person rapidly go a assemblage favorite," Tarantino wrote. "People walk a beingness hoping to spot a slayer whale from shore, and these 3 person much than delivered."

A slayer whale swims successful Elliott Bay successful beforehand of the downtown Seattle skyline connected Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The orca is simply a portion of a pod that had not been recorded by researchers successful this portion until this past period erstwhile 3 whales appeared successful waters disconnected British Columbia and Washington state. Manuel Valdes / AP

Orcas person been captured connected camera successful Seattle successful caller months.  In November, a wildlife lensman retired connected a whale watching travel successful waters disconnected the metropolis captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of slayer whales hunting a seal that survived lone by clambering onto the stern of her boat.

In March 2025, video captured a pod of orcas swimming adjacent to enactment successful Seattle and hunting a bird.

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