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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Killer whales, likely transients, are observed in Hood Canal

Associated Press

BREMERTON – Killer whales have been seen in Hood Canal for the past two days.

Six orcas were seen Monday and again on Tuesday.

Witnesses said two of the orcas had tall dorsal fins, suggesting they were males.

Ken Balcomb, of the Center for Whale Research, said the animals were probably transients, part of a group that roams widely, sometimes between Puget Sound and southeast Alaska.

Balcomb added they might be fish-eating residents and that J Pod, one of three Puget Sound groups, had been seen recently near the Kitsap Peninsula.

In January 2003, a group of 11 seal-eating orcas stayed in Hood Canal for eight weeks, but orcas are rarely seen in the waterway.