Boaters in California’s Monterey Bay on Saturday observed several killer whales feasting on a minke whale carcass.
“We had an absolutely INCREDIBLE day!” Monterey Bay Whale Watch boasted on Facebook. “We documented the 5th ever minke whale predation by killer whales ever seen in Monterey Bay in almost 40 years! The last documented minke whale predation in Monterey Bay was in April of 2012.”
Morgan Quimby captured the accompanying images, one of which was labeled “graphic” as it revealed the minke whale’s face during the predation. (The image is posted below.)
Transient killer whales, or orcas, prey on other marine mammals. Each spring in Monterey Bay, some orcas specialize in attacking gray whale calves traveling northbound with their mothers.
At first, the Monterey Bay Whale Watch crew assumed it was witnessing a rare fall predation of a gray whale calf born during the southbound gray whale migration.
But Quimby’s image confirmed the prey as a small minke whale.
“When we received the report of orcas, there were only 3-4 in the area, then someone else reported others a few miles away, and eventually all the different groups came together!” Monterey Bay Whale Watch informed.
In all, about 15 orcas participated in the feast, including a famous orca cataloged by the California Killer Whale Project as CA140, nicknamed Emma.