Whatsapp lets whale watchers know when to head to the sea
SEATTLE — Peter Bates was dropping his car at the mechanic this month when a notification pinged on his phone: Killer whales were approaching his Seattle neighborhood.
He hopped on a bus toward the water, then an electric bike. He was pedaling along a shoreline trail when orcas’ black fins and white spots punched through the water a few yards away.
“They move so quickly. I was pedaling fast,” he said. “I was open-mouthed the whole way. It was a completely joyful experience, just full of awe.”
In a city known for stunning views of Puget Sound, and where the fate of the endangered resident orcas is a common topic of conversation, catching glimpses of the enchanting creatures is still an elusive treat.
But Salish Wildlife Watch, a WhatsApp group chat that alerts its 1,800 members when orcas are near, aims to make it easier for residents like Bates to have wondrous experiences with them, and to motivate people to learn about and protect the animals.
Users credit the realtime updates for spotting whales swim past the city’s skyline, calves with parents, pod hunts and orcas surfacing so close to shore they could hear and smell their fishy breathing.
“It’s just been kind of addicting,” said group chat member Ian Elliott of Seattle, who saw orcas with visiting friends. “You have the city and then you can go to any park on the water and just see these really wild animals.”
Behind the alerts is Kersti Muul, a biologist and wildlife advocate who hopes those experiences motivate people to learn about and protect the animals. Muul created the group chat to consolidate text threads and social media pages she used to update when orcas were around. Tips come from her most reliable whalewatcher friends, group members and colleagues.
“I love to get people out and especially people that have never seen a whale before,” Muul said. “I don’t know anyone that has had a close pass that doesn’t immediately just love whales.”
Muul’s first love is birds and she named Salish Wildlife Watch after the maze of inland waters between Washington State and British Columbia called the Salish Sea. She planned to include alerts for all kinds of animals. The orcas, however, became the stars.
Muul doesn’t mind. She hopes to marshal the whales’ charisma into awareness of challenges the ecosystem faces, such as depleted salmon runs, vessel noise interfering with their hunting and collisions with boats and ships.
“They’re in our backyard, which is humbling and honoring to begin with,” she said. “I’m trying to promote and facilitate equity and inspiration, and inspiration as a vehicle for advocacy. It’s the only way people get involved.”
Carved by retreating glaciers, the Salish Sea has been home to orcas for time immemorial. They are revered by the indigenous Coast Salish people.
Visits by “Bigg’s” or “transient” orcas have increased over the past few decades, as populations of their prey, like seals and sea lions, rebound in the region. Alerts from the group chat led people to see those orcas hunt just off the Seattle waterfront, near sports stadiums.