Pod Of Killer Whales Leaves Puget Sound Inlet Researchers Had Worried That Animals Were Feeling Trapped

Researchers concerned that a pod of 19 killer whales might have been feeling trapped after a month in Dyes Inlet learned Wednesday that the marine mammals could take care of themselves.

Apparently sated with the salmon and scenery, the family of orcas swam out of the inlet around noon Wednesday and into Puget Sound.

“There was never anything preventing the killer whales from leaving,” said Joe Scordino, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle.

“They stayed as long as they wanted, they ate some salmon and then they left. End of story.”

The extended stay in the inlet was rare. The only West Coast report of killer whales staying in an inlet so long was in Southeast Alaska, where a group of nine orcas stayed in one place for six weeks and exhausted the available food supply.

Two whales died before officials could mount a rescue effort.

The whales drew thousands of shore watchers and scores of boats to the inlet north of Bremerton since their arrival Oct. 21.

Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and Jodi Smith, researchers with the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, kept a watch on the pod and said they were a long ways off from starvation. But on Tuesday, they expressed some concern about the extended stay.

Among their observations:

The whales had been “pacing” in Dyes Inlet, similar to the behavior of a caged animal.

Two of the whales showed some weight loss.

The group was taking fewer trips into Port Washington Narrows, which is the only escape route.

The orcas seemed to be trying harder to avoid boats, particularly kayaks.

NMFS officials say they had seen no signs of trouble or unusual behavior by the animals. Enforcement officers from the services and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife had been in the inlet to keep boaters a safe distance from the whales.