monterey – Syndication Server

Orca bats seal 70 feet skyward in what remains a ‘punt’ for the ages

The astonishing scene is brought to mind by recent footage showing an orca “punting” a common murre 20 feet into the air.

Earlier this week we shared footage showing an orca “punting” a seabird nearly 20 feet into the air in California’s Monterey Bay.

While impressive, the scene was reminiscent of a more astonishing event documented nine years ago, involving an orca that used its flukes to fling a harbor seal at least 70 feet skyward.

The accompanying images were captured off Port Angeles, Wash., by Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a California-based killer whale researcher.

https://www.facebook.com/alisa.schulmanjaniger/posts/6547668058675012?ref=embed_post

“It’s still the most astounding thing I’ve seen,” Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, told FTW Outdoors in 2023. “A momentous moment in my life.”

The event was also captured on video and the footage is posted below. The video description places the height of the seal at 80 feet.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=478672815636888

The male orca belongs to a family scientifically cataloged as the TO69s. The standout punter is TO69C, who was about 20 years old at the time.

The orca shown “punting” the common murre last Saturday is part of a family unit cataloged by the California Killer Whale Project as the CA51As, led by the matriarch, nicknamed Aurora.

Schulman-Janiger said those orcas were honing their skills for when it’s time to hunt seals or sea lions.

“They’re practicing for the pinnipeds when they do this,” she said. “They might smack them with their heads or flukes, but the big thing is to use their flukes to throw them into the air so they’ll be stunned when they come down.”

Orca ‘punts’ sea lion 20 feet into air as boaters watch in awe

Whale Watchers in California’s Monterey Bay spent Thanksgiving Day watching orcas showing a new pod member how to hunt sea lions.

Whale Watchers in California’s Monterey Bay spent part of Thanksgiving Day watching orcas showing a new pod member how to hunt sea lions.

One of the behaviors involved “punting” a sea lion “almost 20 feet in the air,” according to Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

The company explained via social media:

“Based on the behavior observed, this was clearly a training session for the new calf in the pod that is only several months old!

“Once they successfully killed a sea lion, the members of the pod took turns displaying attack maneuvers and behaviors to further instruct their newest pod member on how to hunt.”

The four orcas, or killer whales, belong to a family scientifically cataloged as the CA51As.

Striking images captured by Morgan Quimby show them participating in the hunt and the sea lion sailing through the air. (Click here to watch a harbor seal being punted 70 feet high.)

Monterey Bay Whale Watch added: “While it is hard to watch them hunt in this way, it is important to the survival of the pod. We got some amazing looks at this notoriously friendly pod as they practiced hunting techniques on the sea lion and slowed down towards the end of the encounter making close passes to the boat before prey sharing with one another.”

New orca calf participating in the hunt. Photo: ©Morgan Quimby Photography

The CA51As are transient killer whales, which prey almost exclusively on other marine mammals, including dolphins and baby gray whales.

Leading the hunt was the matriarch, CA51A, nicknamed Aurora. She’s the daughter of CA51, who was not present during the encounter.

Watch: ‘Super rare’ white orca hunts with pod off Monterey

A white orca nicknamed Frosty was spotted Sunday in California’s Monterey Bay and images and video footage appear to show a healthy young killer whale.

Frosty is the only known leucistic, or partially white orca off California. Some white orcas develop health issues that significantly shorten their life spans.

But Frosty, who was first documented off Monterey as a newborn in August 2019, appeared to be in good shape while hunting with its mother and orcas from another family group.

“We had Frosty the super rare white Killer Whale!” Monterey Bay Whale Watch, which captured drone footage of the orcas during an hours-long encounter, boasted via Facebook.

The California Killer Whale Project, founded by the company’s Nancy Black and fellow researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, stated in another post: “The whales hunted an elephant seal and at least one California sea lion, breaching and prey sharing with the carcass!”

Frosty, whose sex is unknown, belongs to a family unit cataloged as the CA216s. Frosty is documented as CA216C1.

Prior to Sunday, the last known Frosty sighting occurred in April off Palos Verdes in Southern California.

In August 2022, a thin-looking Frosty was photographed via drone in Alert Bay, British Columbia.

At the time, Oceanwise Research stated via Instagram: “The measurements of ‘Frosty’ indicate that this animal is quite thin. Having said that, killer whales around this age will often go through a thin period as they are weaned off their mothers milk and then start to fill out in subsequent years.”

Frosty sightings have been sporadic but wide ranging, having occurred from Mexican waters below San Diego to British Columbia.

Frosty is a Bigg’s transient killer whale. These orcas prey almost exclusively on other marine mammals, including gray whale calves. Younger orcas learn from older pod mates and ultimately pass their skills down to new orcas.

On Sunday, Frosty and her mom were with a group known as the CA140Bs, as passengers from several whale-watching companies watched in awe.

Stated Monterey Bay Whale Watch: “The orcas were displaying remarkably social and interactive behavior, with countless breaches and spy hops.”

Rare footage shows deer playing in surf near Pebble Beach

It’s not uncommon to spot deer on California’s Monterey Peninsula, but it is quite rare to see the animals strolling along the beach and playing in the ocean.

It’s not uncommon to spot deer on California’s Monterey Peninsula, but it’s quite rare to see the cautious animals strolling on the beach and playing in the surf.

The accompanying footage, captured recently by Liz Selbicky, shows several deer emerging onto the sand and dipping their hooves into the water.

Some are shown following receding waves and turning to run from the advancing surge, as might a child or a dog.

“I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve never seen deer frolic through the ocean like this,” Selbicky told KSBW 8.

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Selbicky explained to Viral Hog: “I was getting ready to go surfing inside Pebble Beach near Spanish Bay when I noticed a family of deer dart across a 17-mile drive from the golf course down to the beach.

“The younger deer appear to be playing in the water as the buck seems to try and get them to move along.”

The ocean temperature was 52 degrees, apparently not too cold for deer or surfers.

Watch: Curious dog enjoys close encounter with ‘friendly’ whale

The most excited passenger during an all-day whale-watching trip Monday in California’s Monterey Bay was none other than … the dog.

The accompanying footage, captured by Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows an Australian shepherd observing a humpback whale face to face.

It was one of two whales that lingered near the idling boat, the Point Sur Clipper, for nearly two hours.

At times the “friendly” whales would spyhop, or hoist their heads above water to gaze at the folks on the boat.

Skipper, who just turned 1, could hardly contain himself. He cocked his head this way and that as if to ponder what he was looking at and whether the giant creatures might be friendly.

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Said Brodsky: “He comes whale watching all the time, but he usually hangs out in the pilot house, so this was definitely his first close encounter.”

Skipper was so entranced that he refrained from barking. “Over the whole two hours he was mostly silent just trying to figure out what was going on,” Brodsky said.

Skipper is owned by Nancy Black, who also owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch. The company is unique, in part, because of its dog-friendly policy.

“Well-behaved dogs are welcome on our trips,” the company boasts on its website.

Brodsky said that Skipper was equally enthusiastic, and curious, when a large pod of dolphins swam alongside the vessel on Monday.

Watch: Red-footed booby grabs spotlight on whale-watching trip

Whale watchers in California’s Monterey Bay on Tuesday happily made way for a red-footed booby as the seabird landed on the rail as if to become just another passenger.

**UPDATE: The red-footed booby was on the same vessel, High Spirits, again Wednesday. Click here to view some wonderful images and learn the booby’s nickname.

Whale watchers in California’s Monterey Bay on Tuesday happily made way for a red-footed booby as the rare seabird landed on the rail as if to become just another passenger.

“A juvenile red-footed booby landed on the boat today. So we took it whale watching,” Katlyn Taylor, a naturalist for Blue Ocean Whale Watch, wrote in her Facebook video description.

In Taylor’s video, posted below, and in Capt. Kate Cummings’ Instagram video, the seabird casually preens as if not bothered by the presence of people, as humpback whales lunge-feed beyond the bow.

The passengers, giving the booby space, are perhaps more in awe of the exotic visitor than they are of the whales, which are common in Monterey Bay.

ALSO: Rare whale shark spotted by pilot off Southern California; video

Red-footed boobies nest on tropical islands and atolls, so Monterey is far beyond their typical range.

Cummings told FTW Outdoors that she had encountered only one other red-footed booby in Monterey Bay, in 2018, before Tuesday’s encounter.

“It hitched a ride into Moss Landing Harbor on a fishing boat and died a few days later,” Cummings recalled. “But the booby we had [Tuesday] seemed healthy and active, as it was seen plunge-diving for anchovies, successfully, and was preening on our boat.”

Red-footed boobies, named because of the striking coloration of their feet, prey on fish and squid and hunt by flying slowly above the surface.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the seabirds are known to rest on ships as they hunt in open water.

The Lab’s website states: “Individuals may ride on a ship, or fly alongside it, and when flying fish take to the air in front of the vessel, the booby flies swiftly toward it, catching it in the bill. Red-footed boobies also congregate around actively feeding fish such as tuna, which drive small fish toward the surface.”

On Tuesday, the booby appeared to have benefited from whales dispersing massive schools of anchovies.

Beloved humpback whale killed by ship strike off California

An adult female humpback whale nicknamed Fran, described by a prominent researcher as “the most popular whale in California,” has been killed by an apparent ship strike.

**Author’s note: It’s hoped that this story, which contains graphic footage, will raise awareness to the danger posed to whales and other marine creatures by large ships.

An adult female humpback whale nicknamed Fran, described by a prominent researcher as “the most popular whale in California,” has been killed by an apparent ship strike.

The 49-foot whale, who leaves behind a female calf with an uncertain future, washed ashore Sunday in Half Moon Bay.

A necropsy performed by the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences confirmed that Fran’s injuries – including a dislocated scull and fractured vertebra – were consistent with a ship strike.

The Associated Press on Monday, before the cause of death was confirmed, reported that Fran would become the fifth whale killed by a ship strike off Bay Area waters this year.

According to Happywhale, a website that identifies and tracks whales based on photo identification and input from citizen scientists, Fran was born in early 2005.

She migrated between summer feeding grounds off Monterey and winter breeding grounds beyond the Mexican state of Guerrero. She had a previous calf that did not survive the migration from Mexico to California.

Fran was named by Ferd Bergholz, though the Oceanic Society, in honor of his late wife, who lost a battle with cancer.

Bergholz late Monday wrote on Facebook: “I am very sad to report that “Fran,” the Humpback Whale that I named after my late wife Fran, was the victim of a ship strike and washed up on a beach in Half Moon Bay.

“There is no word yet about the calf she had this year. They were together in Monterey Bay a couple of months ago. A Very Sad Day.”

Whales of Guerrero, run by researcher Katherina Audley, added that Fran breached in front of Fred’s whale-watching boat on his wife’s birthday a year after she died.

Audley wrote on Facebook: “When we get to know our whales as individuals like this, their deaths affect us so much more profoundly and the good part of this is that we care more about their health.”

Happywhale, run by researcher Ted Cheesman, recorded 277 sightings of Fran before announcing her passing Monday on its website: “She was the most popular whale in California, encountered by many in Monterey Bay until her death from a ship strike in August of 2022.”

If there’s a positive note to this story it’s that Fran’s calf was observed attempting to feed on her own during a Fran sighting off Monterey in June.

Don Baccus, who was present during the sighting, commented on Facebook: “We saw the calf surface lunging, scattering anchovies every which way, ventral pouch filled with water and possibly fish, not that much later. The calf seemed well on its way to being able to feed.”

“This, of course, doesn’t mean that she was weaned or can feed on her own yet, or survive without Fran, but I am more hopeful than I would be with any other calf I think I’ve ever had the opportunity to watch over time.”

Watch: Breaching humpback whale makes boat ‘disappear’

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they breach nearly free of the surface their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

Humpback whales can measure 60 feet and weigh 40 tons, so when they launch their massive bodies skyward their splashdowns are loud and spectacular.

The accompanying footage, shared Saturday by Discovery Whale Watch in Monterey, Ca., shows a breaching whale displacing so much water that it temporarily masks the vessel in the background.

“Watch our boat (New Horizon) disappear,” Discovery wrote on Facebook. “This humpback whale breached between our two boats. 10 out of 10!”

Discovery Whale Watch is based in Fisherman’s Wharf. Its website describes what tourists might encounter during the summer and fall:

“We expect to see humpback whales daily but we can also view blue whales, fin whales, gray whales (finishing migration), killer whales and a variety of other dolphin species.”

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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).

Humpback whale picks up unintended passenger; photos

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale.

A Monterey Bay photographer on Saturday shared images showing a sea lion perched on the belly of a humpback whale. It was an unplanned ride for the pinniped, which had been feeding on the same school of anchovies the whale had been lunging after.

Yee, who captured the images in 2020, re-shared them after they popped up as a Facebook memory. “One of the weirdest moments I’ve ever experienced at sea,” he recalled.

Yee was working as naturalist for Blue Ocean Whale Watch out of Moss Landing, aboard the High Spirits, when the bizarre interaction occurred.

He told FTW Outdoors that he was unaware of the presence of the sea lion until after the trip.

Kate Cummings, High Spirits captain, asked Yee to inspect his images because she had spotted the sea lion “tumbling down the length of the whale,” she said.

Cummings posted the images to Facebook with the description:

“Today our naturalist Eric Austin Yee caught the hilarious moment when a humpback whale launched out of the water lunge-feeding for anchovies and took an unsuspecting California sea lion for a ride!

“We commonly see humpback whales and sea lions feeding together on anchovies – but the sea lions have to be alert and get out of the whales’ way! This whale was too quick!”

In an interview, Cummings said, “Apparently I was laughing so loud that the captain on the other boat could hear me. It was funny because you could tell the sea lion was fine, albeit completely surprised.”

Humpback whales can catch thousands of anchovies in one gulp. Sea lions and birds – always nearby – must exercise caution as they attempt to participate in the feast.