Southern residents were also spotted Tuesday near Sooke travelling eastbound on inland waters toward Victoria, according to Dustin De Gagne, supervisor of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Whale Protection Unit.
The pod is being monitored by crews of Straitwatch, which reported the orcas were moving quickly into open water on the Strait of Juan de Fuca late Wednesday afternoon.
Rosie Poirier, program co‑ordinator for Straitwatch, has been monitoring the pod since Tuesday. “From what I can see, [their health] looks fine,” she said from the vessel Wednesday.
It wan’t immediately clear if the Sooke group was a mix of pods or just J-Pod.