Washington mammals

Harbour Porpoise in Washington

Phocoena phocoena

Native to Washington S4 Apparently Secure in Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; native to its Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Phocoena phocoena.2Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
Photo: Erik Christensen · CC BY-SA 3.0Phocoena phocoena.2Photo: David Weisenbeck · CC BY 4.0Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)Photo: David Weisenbeck · CC BY 4.0Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)Photo: Felix Meyer · CC BY 4.0Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

Harbour Porpoise in Washington, by the numbers

Common in Washington 38th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

598 occurrence records
491 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 3, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

598 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 595 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Harbour Porpoise in Washington

Most sightings fall in May to September.

595 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January22
February29
March23
April52
May73
June60
July80
August97
September77
October52
November20
December10

Monthly harbour porpoise occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in May–September.

Occurrence map

Where Harbour Porpoise has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

298 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
San Juan Islands National Monument 66
Puget Sound 10
Seashore Conservation Area 6
Deception Pass 4
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park 4
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 3
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve 2
Olympic National Park 2

Protected places with the most harbour porpoise sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

CountyRecords
Clallam County 39
San Juan County 37
Pierce County 36
Skagit County 30
Pacific County 24
King County 23
Grays Harbor County 18
Island County 17
Jefferson County 12
Whatcom County 9
Kitsap County 8
Snohomish County 5
2 other counties 340

The complete county distribution, spread across 14 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Washington’s 2000–2026 dataset contains 598 harbour porpoise records. A feed comparison finds 491 iNaturalist records against 448 in GBIF, with duplicates reconciled in the combined figure. On the atlas scale, the species occupies position 36 of 126.

Reporting is most concentrated in August, with 97 records; December has only 10. A place-level count is available for Puget Sound, which accounts for 4 records. The evidence measures when and where records entered the dataset, rather than biological abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Phocoena phocoena.2
Full species profile Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena Size 1.4–1.9 m4.6–6.2 ft Weight 45–70 kg99.2–154.3 lb Lifespan Up to 20.4 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"