by Richard Osborne, Research Director, The Whale Museum

The winter patterns of the Southern Resident Community relative to the success of Luna reuniting with whales from his community have been very inaccurate in the media reports over the last week. The Whale Museum would like to make some corrections based on documentation in our archives from the last 29 years.

See: http://www.whalemuseum.org/education/library/whalewatch/arrivals.html

• The Southern Resident Community currently consists of approximately 84 individuals in three extended family groups: J Pod, K Pod and L Pod. L Pod is Luna's immediate maternal family.
  
• J Pod has been documented in the inland waters of the Salish Sea (Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia) every month since July 1977. So we know Luna has the opportunity to travel with his paternal cousins in J Pod in local waters continuously throughout the winter and spring.
  
• At some point every winter L Pod (and K Pod) go out the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the outer coast (as far south as Monterey, Calif., and as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia). K and L Pods leave for anywhere from two to eight months, but always return by July, and never any earlier than May. Over the last 29 years L Pod has never been documented in the inland waters in March or April.
  
• Departure months for K and L pods are from October to February. The last time L Pod departed in October was 1996. Since then they have exhibited a trend towards staying in the inland waters longer and longer. Over the last three years they have not left until February.
  
• Based on L Pod's movements this year, they are exhibiting a pattern that suggests they will stay into January or February. If Luna is released some time in the next three weeks he should have at least two months to reintegrate with his immediate family, and no matter when he's released, Luna can always "hang out" with J Pod.
  
  

The Whale Museum, © 2003