Last Friday a group of killer whales swam into Grays Harbor, reportedly going at least as far as under the Chehalis River Bridge.

According to the California Current Killer Whale Study, eight transient (mammal-eating) killer whales entered Grays Harbor and were observed travelling up to Hoquiam and near the river mouth. A number of nervous harbor seals were observed.

Their research team was able to identify only one whale as T087 (born in 1962) due to photo and video quality submitted to them. T087 is the oldest known transient killer whale in the West Coast population, and has been primarily observed in coastal waters of Southeast Alaska. However, he also is a frequent visitor to the inland coastal waters off Southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Puget Sound.

Michael Ansley

Kimberly Asbury