gray whale – Syndication Server

Gray whale carcass with bite marks washes ashore on L.A. Beach

The 39-foot gray whale carcass was discovered floating off Marina del Rey on Saturday with most of its head missing.

**UPDATE: Orcas might not have killed the whale despite an initial claim by a researcher. An examination of the carcass after the whale washed ashore revealed possible shark bites, but results of a necropsy are pending. We apologize for any erroneous information that might have been provided by sources.

Two Los Angeles County boaters on Saturday spotted a gray whale that had recently been killed by orcas and was missing most of its head.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, director of the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, told FTW Outdoors that Jean Huber and Christy Varni discovered the floating carcass at mid-morning less than a mile off Marina del Rey.

Huber and Varni, project volunteers, said the orcas, or killer whales, were not present. But they told Schulman-Janiger that orca teeth marks were evident on the 39-foot carcass.

Schulman-Janiger, also Lead Research Biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, suspected five orcas that had been spotted farther south, off Orange County, on Thursday.

The orcas were photo-identified after Thursday’s sighting as Bigg’s killer whale CA56 and her three kids, along with a closely associated female, CA133.

“I can’t say for sure that this was them, but they were confirmed to have killed at least one common dolphin on Thursday,” Schulman-Janiger said.

Gray whale carcass a day before it washed ashore. Photo: Jean Huber

Bigg’s killer whales prey predominantly on other marine mammals, including gray whales. But virtually all previous gray whale predations have involved much smaller calves.

The CA56/CA133 pod has only been documented seven times as of Thursday, with most sightings logged off Monterey in Central California.

Until Thursday, the farthest south these orcas had been documented was off Santa Barbara in December 2023.

Orcas kill gray whale in rare predation event off L.A.

A rarely seen pod of marine mammal-eating orcas is presumed responsible for killing the 25-foot gray whale.

**UPDATE: Orcas might not have killed the whale despite an initial claim by a prominent researcher. An examination of the carcass after the whale washed ashore revealed possible shark bites, but results of a necropsy are pending. We apologize for any erroneous information that might have been provided by sources.

Two Los Angeles-area boaters on Saturday spotted a juvenile gray whale that had recently been killed by orcas and was missing most of its head.

Huber and Varni, project volunteers, said the orcas, or killer whales, were not present. But they said tooth-rake marks (common after orca predation) were evident on carcass.

Schulman-Janiger, also Lead Research Biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, said the orcas are likely the same five orcas spotted farther south, off Orange County, on Thursday.

Gray whale carcass missing much of its head. Photo: Jean Huber

They were photo-identified by Schulman-Janiger after Thursday’s sighting as Bigg’s killer whale CA56 and her three kids, along with a closely associated female, CA133.

“I can’t say for sure that this was them, but they were confirmed to have killed at least one common dolphin on Thursday,” Schulman-Janiger said.

Bigg’s killer whales prey predominantly on other marine mammals, including gray whales. But virtually all previous gray whale predations have involved much smaller calves.

The CA56/CA133 pod has only been documented seven times as of Thursday, with most sightings logged off Monterey in Central California.

Until Thursday, the farthest south these orcas had been documented was off Santa Barbara in December 2023.

‘Heartbreak in San Diego’ as baby whale found with no mom; video

“The young whale approached our boat multiple times, likely in a desperate attempt to nurse from our hull.”

The operators of a San Diego whale-watching company on Sunday were greeted by a newborn gray whale that was without its mom and desperately craving milk.

Domenic Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, stated via Instagram, “Today was far and away the most heartbreaking day I’ve ever had on the water.”

He added: “The young whale approached our boat multiple times, likely in a desperate attempt to nurse from our hull.”

Biagini’s description of the encounter is included in the video posted below. He was with his girlfriend and business partner Erica Sackrison, who stated in a separate post:

“The silent screams are deafening. A newborn gray whale without its mother. We waited, hoping to spot another whale nearby, but none ever appeared.”

Their posts provide more details and share their feelings of helplessness. But it’s worth noting, for context, that gray whales are presently migrating from Alaska to nursing areas off Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.

Whale births often occur during the southbound migration, but it’s rare to encounter a baby whale without its momma. Sadly, newborn gray whales cannot feed or defend themselves if they become separated from their mothers.

As Sackrison stated, “Sometimes nature can really break your heart.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEvtuiuyugx/

Orcas try to kill ‘massive’ gray whale off San Diego; video

The killer whales “assaulted” the adult gray whale for nearly an hour in rarely documented behavior.

Killer whales from Mexico continue to thrill Southern California boaters while preying on dolphins and milling near vessels.

But on Friday off San Diego, a pod of Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales was documented attacking an adult gray whale in a rarely seen predation attempt that lasted nearly an hour.

The accompanying footage was captured by Capt. Ryan Lawler of Pacific Offshore Expeditions. While the footage is graphic, the gray whale proved too large for the orcas and ultimately continued its migration toward Baja California nursing and mating grounds.

Delaney Trowbridge, also a Pacific Offshore Expeditions captain, described the encounter via Instagram, beginning her post, “Bloodied and bruised, but not broken.”

Trowbridge’s report included an image of the gray whale’s fluke with fresh bite wounds.

She added: “Over the last few weeks we’ve watched the Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales plow their way through pods of common and bottlenose dolphins, but today their eyes were set on a much larger prize: a massive, adult gray whale.

“Despite their best efforts, lasting nearly an hour in their assault, the orcas abandoned their hunt and moved on.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Delaney Trowbridge (@seataceans)

Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, fairly common in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, are considered rare visitors to Southern California. But that designation might no longer apply.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger of the California Killer Whale Project told FTW Outdoors that the ETPs have been documented off Southern California 18 different days since last Dec. 11.

While their presence is exciting for marine mammal enthusiasts, not everybody is pleased to see them linger for so long.

Reads one comment beneath Trowbridge’s post: “God Bless this Whale and any others tortured by these Orcas. They seem to be on a serious killing spree off of California and they typically don’t stay this long. This leads to many other concerns.”

Transient killer whales, commonly encountered in Monterey Bay, also visit Southern California sporadically.

Transients also prey on other marine mammals, including gray whale calves that pass through Monterey Bay with their mothers during the northbound migration to Alaska.

Watch: Jet-ski rider speeds over whale, almost hits boat

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a seemingly out-of-control jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a whale-watching boat.

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a crowded whale-watching boat.

The accompanying footage was captured Sunday inside the L.A. Harbor breakwater by Daniel Genuth. It has no sound and is best viewed in full screen.

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The footage was subsequently shared by Eric Martin, head aquarist at the Roundhouse Aquarium in Manhattan Beach, who wrote on Facebook:

“As [Genuth] was filming the animals feeding, he got a very horrible surprise. The jet-ski operator not only almost hit the whale, but almost hit the [vessel] Christopher. Then a sailboat went right over the whale, while the whale was feeding. I have no clue what people are thinking anymore when it comes to logic and our environment.”

Various gray whales have been feeding sporadically on the sandy bottom inside the harbor since mid-February, Martin told FTW Outdoors. At least two feeding there Sunday.

The footage begins with a whale surfacing with sand flowing from both sides of its mouth. Gray whales forage on sandy bottoms for crustaceans and other small critters. The sandy patches in the footage were created by feeding whales.

The Christopher, from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach, is visible at the top of the screen. The jet ski blasts into the picture at 35 seconds, passing over a whale. The driver then speeds toward and veers within feet of the Christoper before continuing the joy ride.

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It’s unclear what happened next, or if the incident was reported to authorities. Harbor Breeze Cruises did not respond to inquiries by FTW Outdoors and did not mention the close call in its Sunday Facebook report.

It’s worth noting that the jet-ski driver might not have been aware of whales feeding inside the harbor, and might not have seen the mammals. But the driver obviously saw the 65-foot boat and high-speed passes such as this are dangerous, if not illegal.

Martin said the incident occurred beyond the low-speed, no-wake zone, but added: “I don’t think he was out of the stupid zone.”

Gray whales are currently migrating from nursing and mating regions of Baja California to summer feeding grounds in Arctic waters.

Watch: Playful young whale twirls to the delight of boaters

Tourists in a Baja California lagoon enjoyed an extraordinary encounter last week when a gray whale calf twirled playfully within feet of the boat.

Tourists in a Baja California lagoon enjoyed an extraordinary encounter last week when a gray whale calf twirled playfully for a prolonged period within feet of their boat.

The accompanying footage, captured by Charlie Harmer of Silver Shark Adventures, shows the young whale spinning rapidly, as if showing off, as passengers laugh and cheer.

“That was amazing!” one of them exclaims afterward.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIHHiTBenX/

The unusual encounter occurred March 31 in Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, near the town of Guerrero Negro in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

Harmer told For The Win Outdoors that the mother and calf approached their boat and the calf became playful while mom simply “logged” or rested at the surface.

“Before we knew it, we noticed the calf blowing bubbles underneath us from time to time and doing these barrel rolls or spins off the side of the boat,” Harmer said. “Most were a couple of spins but there were a couple of times when it would spin and pick up speed with each spin.

“Everyone got really excited. It seemed like the calf was feeding off our energy and continued to spin. I’ve witnessed this behavior before from large adults but at a much slower pace. I’ve never seen a calf spin like this.”

The encounter, enjoyed by passengers from San Diego and Seattle, lasted five hours. Harmer described it as “one of the coolest days I’ve ever had in 10-plus years with a mom-and-calf pair.”

He added: “We all agreed we should name this whale ‘Twirly’ because of all the spinning and twirling it was doing.”

Baja California’s lagoons are seasonal nursing grounds for thousands of gray whales that migrate from Arctic waters during the winter.

The northbound migration back to summer feeding grounds off Alaska is underway but mothers with calves are generally last to leave the lagoons.

Watch: Tourist drenched by gray whale; ‘I was sprayed on purpose’

Beatriz Moreno knows a thing or two about stinky whale breath after her close encounter with a gray whale recently in Mexico.

Beatriz Moreno knows a thing or two about stinky whale breath.

Moreno, 30, was watching gray whales recently in Mexico’s Ojo de Liebre Lagoon when one of the mammals paused alongside the charter boat.

The accompanying footage shows the Glendale, Calif., resident positioning herself near the whale so Charlie Harmer, owner of Silver Shark Adventures, could capture footage of her wonderful encounter.

But at almost the precise moment when Harmer directed Moreno to look toward the camera, the whale exhaled a plume directly into her face and mouth, prompting a mixed reaction of joy and disgust.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM3e3pyHkCw/

It’s clear that Harmer, who runs whale-watching expeditions at Ojo Liebre from February into April, had set up his client. But the timing was so perfect that viewers might wonder whether the whale’s action also was intentional.

“It feels like they do it on purpose,” Harmer told For The Win Outdoors. “That’s why I set her up, because I could see it happening based on the body language from the whale. I’ve been observing them for 10-plus years there, and after hundreds of encounters I can guess when this is going to happen.”

Said Moreno of the early March encounter: “The thing I feel when I play that video now and look back is just how human these animals are. They’re playful and there’s no doubt in my mind that I was sprayed on purpose.”

Call it an initiation of sorts.

Ojo de Liebre Lagoon and other Baja California lagoons are seasonal nursing and mating grounds for thousands of gray whales. During their stay, before they migrate back to feeding grounds off Alaska, they often interact with tourists on small boats.

The whales are curious and sometimes allow tourists to touch and stroke their skin, and because they exhale powerfully as part of their breathing process, tourists are sometimes sprayed.

Moreno said that throughout her time in the lagoon she was “mesmerized and incredibly aware of what a once-in-a lifetime type of moment I was living.”

Despite being pranked, she said she would gladly receive another gray whale drenching.

“Maybe this time I would close my mouth, though,” she joked.

Gray whale displays calf to boaters, image stirs emotions

After Capt. Alushe Camacho shared an extraordinary image Tuesday, showing a gray whale hoisting her calf almost entirely out of the water, his Facebook followers were quick to respond.

“What a beautiful photo,” one person wrote.

“The perfect shot at the perfect time,” another admirer stated.

But because the sight was so striking, with the large calf draped over its momma’s back and appearing motionless, some wondered whether it might be injured or dead.

https://www.facebook.com/alushe00/posts/3911330908965052

Additionally, there are scars on the calf’s back and its eye appears to be only partially open.

“Alive? Did you see him moving?” Asked Erin Johns Gless, a U.S.-based researcher.

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The image was captured last season, before the COVID-19 pandemic, in Magdalena Bay off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

Baja California’s lagoons are winter nursing grounds for thousands of gray whales, famous for intimately close interactions between the curious mammals and tourists.

Momma whales occasionally play with their calves, and sometimes appear to show them off to boaters.

But behavior such as that captured by Camacho, with a larger calf being lifted so high, has not been widely documented.

Wrote Johns Gless: “I’ve seen mothers push their babies to help them breathe, but I’ve never seen one completely out of water like this on the mother’s back. If you saw it move, that’s okay, but this is very different than anything I’ve ever seen.”

She mentioned a well-documented case in which a Southern Resident killer whale, in 2018, carried her dead calf for more than two weeks off Canada and the northwestern U.S. in what seemed a period of grieving.

Camacho, whose family has run Pirates Tours for nearly 40 years, assured Johns Gless and others on the thread that the whale calf was alive and healthy, and that he would not have shared the image if that weren’t the case.

“It’s normal for whales to play with their mother and climb on her body,” he said.

Camacho, 33, told For The Win Outdoors that he has been leading tours since he was 21. He said a client captured the image and he’s the man standing at the stern of the skiff, wearing a red cap.

“Since I am the captain of that boat, I want to assure you that I saw that calf alive and swimming,” he said.

Gray whales are currently leaving the lagoons for their northbound migration to summer feeding grounds off Alaska. Mothers with calves are the last to exit the lagoons.

–Image courtesy of Capt. Alushe Camacho

Scuba divers’ rare whale encounter a ‘heart-pounding’ experience

For Christine Dorrity, encountering a gray whale while scuba diving Wednesday off La Jolla, Calif., was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget.”

Dorrity and Elizabeth Benitez were diving at a depth of 55 feet when they spotted the whale rolling on its side and seemingly foraging on the bottom.

“We had to back up a few times so make sure the tail would not hit us,” Dorrity stated on Facebook. “My heart has never pounded so fast.”

Dorrity’s Facebook post caught the attention of Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a researcher who explained that gray whales forage in sediment by rolling onto one side and unearthing prey items.

Schulman-Janiger told For The Win Outdoors, “It’s most likely a southbound juvenile, getting close to Baja, and looking for a snack on the way.”

Gray whales feed predominantly on tiny crustaceans called amphipods in their summer range off Alaska. They migrate to Baja California each winter for the nursing and mating season. Some whales feed opportunistically during the migration.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK3Cm6IhGd-/

Unfortunately for the gray whale population, food has been scarce recently in Arctic waters. The population has plummeted from about 27,000 whales in 2016 to about 20,000.

Dorrity’s footage shows the young whale – perhaps 30 feet long – stirring up sediment beyond La Jolla Shores, south of V Point. A second clip (posted above) shared via Instagram shows a curious sea lion swimming in front of the camera just before the whale appears.

[jwplayer gJIpBTpv-q2aasYxh]

Whale fails at social distancing with paddleboarder

A paddleboarder attempting to keep his distance from a whale off Southern California had a hard time of it because it kept coming at him.

A paddleboarder attempting to keep his distance from a gray whale off Southern California had a hard time of it because it kept coming at him.

“A couple of times he popped up right next to me, I saw the tail pop up right next to me,” Doug Griffith told the Orange County Register. “I just think it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I spend a fair amount of time in the water and you don’t see a whale every day.”

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Photographer Matt Larmand, who captured video of the close encounter off Capistrano Beach in Dana Point on Sunday, told the Register it’s the closest he’s seen whales come to shore along this stretch of beach. It came within 10 to 15 feet of the beach at times. It also came quite close to Griffith, who told the Register it kept zigzagging at him.

“[The whale] was not keeping the 6-feet away like he was supposed to,” Larmand told the Register.

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For Griffith, who was paddling with his son and dad, the outing was a nice alternative to the whale-watching trip he and his son Fritz were scheduled to be on in Baja. It was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t need to go to Baja now,” Fritz told his dad.

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