A recent sighting of southern resident killer whales near Monterey, Calif.,&nbsp;has researchers taking note — as the pod usually calls the waters off B.C. and Washington state home.

Josh McInnes, research coordinator at Marine Life Studies in Monterey, was one of the scientists who spotted the pod of&nbsp;killer whales that had ventured&nbsp;more than 1,000 kilometres south.

McInnes was on a project studying transient whales that hunt&nbsp;grey whales migrating north.

"I saw a bunch of spouts in the distance and tall dorsal fins," he told&nbsp;

Hopes rise as endangered 'grandmother' killer whale is spotted alive

Some were expecting her to die, but J17, a member of the B.C. coast's endangered southern resident killer whale population, has resurfaced in B.C. waters in the last few days.

J17, the eldest female member of J pod swims alongside a younger resident on Dec. 31, 2018. The matriarch's health has been failing for years and she is currently missing from the pod.

A photo taken of the southern resident killer whale known as J17 on New Year's Eve showed the 42-year-old female had developed a so-called peanut head, a sign of starvation.

"As they got closer, I took a photograph and looked right away and I recognized L pod, which is ... one of the local southern resident pods that frequents the waters off Washington and British Columbia.

"I've spent many years in the water watching them. I knew right away by their markings on their dorsal fin, the saddle patches, that was them."

The findings shocked McInnes and his colleagues, who had never seen the resident whales so far south.

A researcher thinks the whales may have been hunting out salmon.

L Pod whales

So why were the whales — around 25 of them — so far from home?

McInnes says salmon are starting to come to the ocean in that part of the U.S. and the whales, which eat the salmon, might be looking for food.

Scientists may have discovered a new killer whale

An international team of researchers may have found a new species of killer whales off southern Chile. Scientists are waiting for DNA tests from a tissue sample to determine if it is a distinct species.

This undated photo provided by Paul Tixier in March 2019 shows a Type D killer whale. Scientists are waiting for test results from a tissue sample, which could give them the DNA evidence to prove the new type is a distinct species.  

Killer Whale

A type D killer whale. Scientists are waiting for test results from a tissue sample, which could give them the DNA evidence to prove the new type is a distinct species.  

"It's a really positive thing to see, that they're possibly in a different region where salmon might be better off, than, say, up in the Pacific Northwest, where we know chinook is critically endangered," he suggested.

It's not known if travelling south for food could become a trend for the southern residents. Whale research, he said, only began in the 1970s and historical data is poor.

Killer whales eat dolphins. So why are these dolphins tempting fate?

Killer whales are the only predators that regularly kill and devour Pacific white-sided dolphins off the B.C. coast. So researchers were surprised when drone footage showed such dolphins playing within a few fin-spans of killer whales’ toothy jaws.

Footage captured by a scientific research drone shows Pacific white-sided dolphins playing within a few fin-spans of killer whales' toothy jaws.

Southern resident killer whale dolphin

More studies are required, but McInnes&nbsp;says it is possible the whales are becoming more willing to travel to find food.

The whales he observed on their California sojourn, at least, appeared to be in good health.

Southern resident killer whales from L pod were spotted far from home over the weekend.

Residents far from home: B.C. killer whales spotted in California waters

Could be travelling for food

More Stories Like This