Killer Whales – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Stunning footage shows ‘way of the orca’ while hunting dolphins

A Southern California photographer has captured extraordinary footage revealing how transient orcas stun their prey before participating in a group feast.

A Southern California photographer has captured graphic but extraordinary footage revealing how transient orcas stun prey before participating in a group feast.

In describing the accompanying video, Ryan Lawler of Pacific Offshore Expeditions wrote:

“Orcas rarely use their teeth to kill prey. Most of the time a combination of body-slamming, head-butting and slaps from the tail are used to inflict blunt force trauma. While this is no doubt a sad video in some respects, this is the way of the Orca. One dolphin fed the entire pod of five for at least one whole day.”

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The orcas, or killer whales, were encountered Christmas Day near Anacapa Island off Ventura County.

The mammals were active and the top image, courtesy of Mark Girardeau, shows the pod’s matriarch leaping “Free Willy style” in pursuit of the dolphin. The matriarch, catalogued as CA140B and nicknamed Louise, was identified by Alisa Schulman-Janiger of the California Killer Whale Project.

Transient orcas are occasional visitors to Southern California and their hunting forays often involve common dolphins.

Orcas play through at historic golf course in Canada; photos

On a recent afternoon at Victoria Golf Club in British Columbia, Canada, orcas surfaced close to shore, allowing golfers to marvel at the sight.

On a recent afternoon at Victoria Golf Club in British Columbia, Canada, orcas surfaced close to shore, interrupting play for golfers.

The accompanying images, captured by Elah Davidson, show orcas in the Salish Sea adjacent to the course, and one golfer immortalizing the moment with his camera.

Davidson, a naturalist for Western Prince Whale Watching, was part of an Aug. 28 expedition that encountered the orcas near Victoria Harbor on Vancouver Island.

The company boasted on Facebook: “When we arrived on scene we were greeted by a group of Bigg’s [transient] killer whales known as the T60s, circling the reefs apparently looking for harbor seals.

“They hunted for about an hour before moving on. After they caught their lunch we were lucky enough to see a spyhop and a few tail lobs before they carried on, passing by some lucky golfers who could see them from shore.”

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Davidson told FTW Outdoors that this region is home to Bigg’s transient orcas, which prey on marine mammals, and critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, which feed on salmon.

“I’ve never seen them in this exact spot before, but they can be found in these waters year-round,” Davidson said.

The Facebook post includes images showing various orca behaviors.

Victoria Golf Club, founded in 1893, is the oldest golf course in Canada that remains at its original location, according to the website.

It’s the second-oldest golf course in North America, so countless orcas undoubtedly have graced its shores, and an untold number of golf balls have been plunked into the sea.

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Orcas line up perfectly for family portrait in ‘awesome moment’

A photographer has captured what might be considered the perfect orca family portrait in foggy weather in California’s Monterey Bay.

A photographer on Tuesday captured an extraordinary orca family portrait in foggy weather in California’s Monterey Bay.

“The awesome moment when all the orcas you encounter line up for a shot,” Eric Austin Yee wrote on Facebook.

The black-and-white image, captured during a Discovery Whale Watch expedition, shows the closely aligned dorsal fins of five transient orcas – a mom, her three kids, and another orca that travels with the family.

Yee, also a naturalist, said visibility was poor when he received a tip from colleagues about an orca sighting in the middle of the bay.

Yee told FTW Outdoors: “As we approached the area the pod of five orcas popped up near us. We were worried they would have been lost in the fog but they resurfaced near us multiple times and got active.”

Behaviors included breaching and spy-hopping, which is when a whale in a vertical position pokes its head out of the water for a look around.

“Even though visibility was poor, the water was glassy,” Yee continued. “I got a lucky moment when all five animals lined up and I snapped the shot.

Yee added: “I had a weird moment when going through my photos: ‘How would black-and-white animals look in black and white?’ Pretty good, I guess.”

Monterey Bay is a frequent hunting area for transient orcas, which prey on marine mammals. The family unit photographed by Yee is well known to scientists.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said the orcas, from nearest to farthest, are cataloged and nicknamed as follows: CA51A3 (Dipper), CA51A2 (Andi), CA51A4 (Eclipse), CA51A (the matriarch, Aurora), and CA50B (Jimmy).

Dogs ‘have some things to say’ to orcas swimming past dock

Orcas have been cruising through Puget Sound during the past week, to the delight of residents and, it seems, to one resident’s dogs.

The accompanying footage shows two dogs barking enthusiastically from the end of a dock as orcas swim past.

Orca Network, which reports on sightings throughout the Pacific Northwest, stated on Facebook: “Pups had to things to say…”

The nonprofit added: “Several matrilines of Bigg’s orcas (mammal-eating type) have been keeping a presence inland Puget Sound this past week. One group, the T65s & T77s have been inhabiting waters in southern reaches. On July 3rd a close pass in Pickering Passage .”

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The footage was captured by Chad Queirolo, who could not be reached for comment.

On July 1, the same orcas were documented swimming only yards from shore at the west end of Hale Pass in the south portion of Puget Sound.

Photos: New Zealand orcas hit the surf in pursuit of prey

A New Zealand photographer has captured images showing orcas surfing in shallow water in pursuit of eagle rays.

Last September, a New Zealand photographer captured striking images showing orcas surfing Mt. Maunganui. The critically endangered orcas are so revered that lifeguards halted vessel training to allow the mammals to pass safely through the area.

Erin Armstrong’s images were picked up by national media and last week a New Zealand Herald story was shared via Facebook.

Upon seeing the images I reached out to Armstrong and Ingrid Visser, founder of the Orca Research Trust, to ask if surfing is a common behavior for New Zealand’s orcas.

Said Visser: “Surfing orcas in New Zealand is far from rare. I regularly get reports of this occurring and I’ve observed it many times myself. However, I’m typically in my boat – so I’m on the ‘outer side’ of the waves and can’t get images like these.”

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Armstrong had stated via Instagram that the orcas she photographed were hunting eagle rays. “Incredible just how close they come in to shore, all in the pursuit of the eagle ray buffet,” she wrote.

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In an email, Armstrong added: “On this day there was a crew training from the local Omanu Surf Lifesaving Club in their inflatable rescue boat. The New Zealand orca population is one of the most physically scarred in the world due to interactions with boats.

“I knew the orca were traveling down the coastline so at the risk of missing my opportunity to get the photographs I raced up to the Surf Club to ask if they could get their crew off the water. Super grateful to them for acting fast and allowing and although there was a lot of running involved, I still managed to get the shots I wanted.”

Visser provided a link that includes images of orcas preying on rays and sharks, and surfing near the shore. New Zealand orcas also prey on fish, birds, and octopus.

Visser said orcas sometimes play in the surf between hunting forays.

Said Armstrong: “It is pretty incredible that these guys do visit our waters reasonably frequently, but that does not mean that they are easy to see. They’re very stealthy so every interaction [I witness] makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world.”

–Images were used with the permission of Erin Armstrong and are protected by copyright laws

Orcas slurp sea jellies in rare behavior caught on video

For the second time this year an orca family group has been documented playing with sea jellies in California’s Monterey Bay.

This rarely observed behavior – transient orcas, or killer whales, prey almost exclusively on marine mammals – involved the same four orcas.

On Tuesday, on a trip run by Capt. Slater Moore, the orcas were encountered outside of Moss Landing.

“We watched them eat a couple of sea lions. Then as they traveled out of the bay one of the younger ones [tossed] a jellyfish in her mouth,” Moore wrote on Instagram.

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Moore also joked: “I guess sea nettles taste like Jolly Ranchers?!?!”

Kate Cummings, owner of Blue Ocean Whale Watch, was aboard Moore’s boat and described the family group as “grabbing sea nettle jellies as they went,” after the sea lion predation.

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Sea nettles are jellies (jellyfish) whose tentacles can span 10-plus feet. Stinging cells paralyze small prey items, which are carried by “mouthy-arms” to the jellies’ mouths, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Orca slurps sea nettle. Photo: ©Kate Cummings

Moore and Cummings told FTW Outdoors that the orcas seemed to be playing with and not preying upon the sea nettles.

“I don’t think they swallowed any of the jellies,” Moore said.

The four orcas are cataloged as the CA202s by the California Killer Whale Project. They include a mom and her three offspring.

The same rarely encountered group – the mother is nicknamed Smiley because of a distinct marking in her saddle – was documented playing with sea nettles on Feb. 6.

Orca carries sea nettle. Photo: ©Tory Kallman

Passengers and crew aboard a Monterey Bay Whale Watch vessel watched as two of the orca siblings carried what might have been the same sea nettle at different times in the bay.

Tory Kallman captured footage of the oldest sibling (a male) swimming behind a GoPro camera with the sea nettle dangling from his chin.

Capt. Nancy Black, owner of Monterey Bay Whale Watch and co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, told FTW Outdoors that the orcas seemed to be playing with the jelly “like a dog plays with a ball.”

Black also said that these particular orcas might simply enjoy the stinging sensation generated by tentacles touching their tongues.

Watch: Orcas dazzle boaters during ‘magical’ rare encounter

A whale-watching charter out of San Diego on Tuesday spent “five magical hours” with orcas that surfed, leaped, and even swam upside down within feet of passengers and crew.

The extraordinary footage, captured by Gone Whale Watching San Diego, shows Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, or orcas, clearly interacting with those aboard the 27-foot Boston Whaler.

“All in all this was one of the best trips in our company’s history,” Domenic Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, wrote on Facebook.

Acting on a tip from a sportfishing captain, Biagini traveled 80 miles south of San Diego, into Mexican waters, in search of the ETP killer whales.

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He first located beaked whales, and footage of that rare encounter is forthcoming. Biagini and crew spotted the orcas on the way back up the coast, about 50 miles south of San Diego.

ETP orcas, which are spotted sporadically off Mexico and in the Sea of Cortez, are famously inquisitive around boats and have been known to surf in their wakes.

Biagini’s passengers were treated to this behavior but also observed the grace and beauty of the mammals as they slowly swam beneath and next to the boat, at times completely upside down.

Passengers also witnessed a predation event (the jumping portion of the video) involving a common dolphin that ultimately became an orca snack.

“The orcas toyed with this common dolphin for nearly 90 minutes before finally completing the kill and sharing in a meal,” Biagini explained on Facebook. “It very well may have been a teaching moment for the youngsters in this pod. They’ll have to complete hunts themselves one day!”

The footage was captured by Biagini, Kyle Henderson, and Alyson Moors.

Biagini assured that his engines were not running during the orcas’ close approaches, and that the orcas were “play-chasing us,” and not the other way around, when the boat was in motion.

Watch as orca swims upside down just feet beneath boaters

Passengers aboard a San Diego-based whale-watching boat enjoyed a rare encounter with orcas during a “wild adventure” Tuesday off Mexico.

The accompanying footage shows two Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas closely approaching the 27-foot boat, and one orca turning completely upside down while passing beneath its bow.

Domenic Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, wrote on Instagram: “Can you seriously imagine what it would be like to experience two wild Orcas coming right at you!?! Well this happened to us yesterday.”

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Biagini explained that he was acting on a tip from a sportfishing captain about orcas near the Baja California city of Ensenada.

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This resulted in “a wild 80-mile adventure into Mexico that concluded with the holy grail of all sightings for us: Eastern Tropical Pacific Killer Whales! This is an unusually friendly group of Orcas that spent 5 hours playing with our boat, only taking a short break to hunt and kill a common dolphin!”

ETP orcas occasionally venture as far north as Southern California, but sightings are more common in Mexican waters. The killer whales are opportunistic predators whose diet includes dolphins and other marine mammals.

–Image and video courtesy of Domenic Biagini

Watch: Curious ‘sea alien’ tries to communicate with diver

An ecotourism operator in Mexico said he seemed to gaze into the eyes of a “sea alien” during a recent close encounter with a false killer whale.

An ecotourism operator in Mexico said he seemed to gaze into the eyes of a “sea alien” during a recent encounter with an extremely curious false killer whale.

The extraordinary footage, captured by Charlie Harmer of Silver Shark Adventures, shows the false killer whale face to face with the guide after he had slipped into the water for a closer look.

Viewers can watch the mammal’s body movements and listen to its peculiar vocalizations as it scrutinizes Harmer from only feet away.

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Harmer told FTW Outdoors that the encounter occurred Aug. 17 in the Sea of Cortez off Bahia de los Angeles, after his charter had spent hours observing actual killer whales.

“We spotted a pod of approximately 20 false killer whales after spending five hours with a pod of six orcas,” Harmer recalled. “A few of the false orcas curiously approached our panga and started echolocating around us.

“You could hear the sounds loud and clear topside. After observing them for 15 minutes, one false orca remained around the panga. I got in the water, staying close to the panga and feeling strongly it was going to be curious of my presence.

“It took less than a minute for it to approach, turn to me and produce an array of high-pitch clicks and whistles. There were a few other false orcas below communicating the whole time. The encounter lasted approximately eight minutes, the majority of it with this false orca only a few feet from my face.”

Harmer continued: “It felt like a sea alien was communicating with me, putting me in a trance while I just watched in awe. It was arguably the best connection I’ve ever had with the sea.”

False killer whales, which are dark gray and do not bear a strong resemblance to killer whales, are found in tropical and subtropical waters. In the Eastern Pacific, however, they’ve been documented as far north as British Columbia.

Like wild killer whales, they’re not considered to be dangerous to humans, although swimming with the mammals is not advised and could be illegal if harassment can be proved.

Robin Baird, who studies false killer whales in Hawaii for the Cascadia Research Collective, told FTW Outdoors: “There are other examples of false killer whales interacting with free divers, and even people in boats, in a way that is quite unusual.”

Two weeks ago the owner of a San Diego-based whale-watching company captured drone footage showing false killer whales passing a freshly killed bluefin tuna among themselves in a behavior known as prey sharing.

False killer whales also have been documented presenting fish to boaters.

Said Baird: “Their behavior of offering fish to people seems to reflect viewing humans as something similar, in a way that is rarely seen in other cetaceans.”

–Video and images courtesy of Charlie Harmer / Silver Shark Adventures

Watch: Orca’s dramatic leap leaves boaters in awe

Boaters in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez were amazed Sunday as an orca leaped 15 feet clear of the surface while attacking a dolphin.

Boaters in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez were astonished Sunday as an orca leaped 15 feet clear of the surface while attacking a bottlenose dolphin.

The accompanying footage, captured by Miguel Cuevas of Cabo Pulmo Divers, shows the orca launching itself and the dolphin as the orca rammed the smaller mammal during a high-speed vertical charge. (Best viewed with sound.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO80C_0AiJi/

The predation event at Cabo Pulmo, a dive spot north of Cabo San Lucas, occurred after several boats had gathered to view an orca pod as it hunted dolphins.

Cabo Pulmo Divers described the great leap as an “amazing moment” on Facebook.

Orca slams dolphin at the surface. Photo: Miguel Cuevas

Researchers who had seen the video tried late Sunday to obtain more information about the encounter and to determine whether any males accompanied the pod.

They noted that another Instagram post contains underwater footage – viewers must swipe to the third clip – of the orcas’ dolphin pursuit. (See post below.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO9LlMrlWYX/

Cuevas told For The Win Outdoors that he counted “at least 10 orcas,” all females, and that the predation event, although it involved just the one kill, lasted several hours.

He estimated the height of the leap to be “four to five meters.”

Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas, or killer whales, prey largely on marine mammals and mobula rays, which are abundant in the gulf. The orcas are known to express curiosity toward boaters and to occasionally surf in vessels’ wakes.

On April 20, farther north in Bahia de los Angeles, several orcas from a pod of 12, including a young calf, swam so closely to a panga that one of its passengers later recalled, “I laughed and cried and was in utter disbelief.”

–Images courtesy of Miguel Cuevas/Cabo Pulmo Divers