T-party at Turn Point / ŚÁ,NES

May 27, 2025

On May 27, 2025 our team set out in the morning with a report of a large group of killer whales in Boundary Pass. Often this means SRKW are around, but today was different. Soon enough, we were within sight of a group of approximately 20 Bigg’s killer whales! This is the largest group of Bigg’s our team has seen. Unlike SRKW who usually travel in large groups of 15-70, Bigg’s stay in smaller pods, usually ~2-8 individuals. On this day, there were members of at least 5 different pods! We’ve determined these pods are the T123s, T101s, T100Bs, T100E, and T086As. Large groups of Bigg’s killer whales are often referred to as T-Parties(!) due to their previous common name “Transient”. This large group was moving slowly, taking the tide rip back and forth north of ŚÁ,NES (Turn Point, Stuart Island). We were the only vessel with them at first, and with our engines off, we drifted with the current and kept the underwater soundscape quiet.

Recreational vessels soon travelled through the area and all kept a respectful and legal distance. One tanker transiting through got too close to the whales at ŚÁ,NES as they travelled through the shipping lanes. Before long, commercial whale watchers caught up with them, and they were followed the rest of the day.

All photos are taken with a 200-600 zoom lens.