Tag: Orca

Orca ‘punt’ of sea lion reminiscent of punt for the ages

The recent “punt” of a sea lion by an orca was reminiscent of a scene caught on video 8 years ago, involving perhaps the highest orca punt on record.

On Sunday we shared images of orcas hunting (and “punting“) a sea lion off California. The photos were reminiscent of an extraordinary scene that played out eight years ago, involving an orca that punted a harbor seal 70-80 feet into the air. That story, recalled on this site last month with images and video, is posted below:

Transient orcas off the U.S. West Coast prey on marine mammals and sometimes toss the smaller animals to stun or kill them.

The accompanying images, captured by researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, show a male orca using his flukes to fling a harbor seal an astonishing 70 feet high.

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

The harbor seal hunt, off Port Angeles in Washington State, occurred eight years ago and Schulman-Janiger shared her images Tuesday as a Facebook memory.

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

The orca, or killer whale, belongs to a family cataloged as the TO69s. The standout punter is TO69C, who was about 20 years old at the time. That’s considered a young adult.

Schulman-Janiger described the event on Facebook:

“After three failed attempts, adult male T069C tossed a harbor seal more than 70 feet up into the air – sending it flying wide-eyed above the circling gulls!

“I took five photos after my highest capture, with no seal in sight; lowered my camera, looked for the seal – and saw it splash down next to the submerged orca several seconds later!

“His mom T069 and two siblings were hunting nearby; all enjoyed harbor seal for lunch.”

After the spectacular event, there was debate about the height of the seal at its apex. The 70-foot estimate is considered conservative.

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: Orca punts seal 70 feet into the air ‘among the gulls’

Images and video footage captured off Washington State show an orca punting a harbor seal 70 feet into the air.

Transient orcas off the U.S. West Coast prey on marine mammals and sometimes toss the smaller animals to stun or kill them.

The accompanying images, captured by researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, show a male orca using his flukes to fling a harbor seal an astonishing 70 feet high.

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

The harbor seal hunt, off Port Angeles in Washington State, occurred eight years ago and Schulman-Janiger shared her images Tuesday as a Facebook memory.

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

The orca, or killer whale, belongs to a family cataloged as the TO69s. The standout punter is TO69C, who was about 20 years old at the time. That’s considered a young adult.

Schulman-Janiger described the event on Facebook:

“After three failed attempts, adult male T069C tossed a harbor seal more than 70 feet up into the air – sending it flying wide-eyed above the circling gulls!

“I took five photos after my highest capture, with no seal in sight; lowered my camera, looked for the seal – and saw it splash down next to the submerged orca several seconds later!

“His mom T069 and two siblings were hunting nearby; all enjoyed harbor seal for lunch.”

After the spectacular event, there was considerable debate about the height of the seal at its apex. The 70-foot estimate is considered conservative.

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.

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.”

Strangers in amazing orca photo tracked down by photographer

An eco-tour guide took an amazing photo of an orca spy-hopping with five people on shore in the background witnessing the priceless moment.

While guiding an eco-tour off Vancouver Island, Iwan Lewylle snapped an amazing image of an orca spy-hopping with five strangers witnessing the priceless moment on shore in the background.

“This one was pretty good and really unexpected,” Lewylle of Nature Trek eco-tours told Glacier Media. “That was the first time ever I was able to take a shot like that.”

The image was snapped in Oak Bay, Victoria, with a telephoto lens on Sept. 13, and Lewylle shared it on Facebook with a callout in hopes to find the people in his photograph. It didn’t take long.

Joe Nelson reached out to Lewylle right away after recognizing he and his son in the photo.

“It was nice that the photographer got that photo of us because it’s something that I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life,” Nelson told Glacier Media.

From Glacier Media:

Lewylle confirmed one of the women in the picture reached out to him after her cousin saw it. The woman contacted him through Facebook and said the other two women standing nearby are her friends.

Lewylle told Glacier Media last week he wanted to print the image and give it to his unintended photo subjects. He even offered to frame it.

“Most people are already happy with receiving the original it seems,” he said on Monday, adding he still plans to print the image for the five strangers.

One commenter on the Glacier Media YouTube post wrote:

“That picture, although totally spontaneous, couldn’t have come out better if it had been planned. Such a lovely memory to have frozen in time, forever. I’d make several copies. I’d Laminate a few, I’d frame a couple, I’d have it painted on a large canvas & hang it in my living room. Such an AWESOME photo!”

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.”

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.

Surreal footage shows rare orca encounter off Cape Cod

Commercial fishermen off Cape Cod were accompanied by a solitary orca Sunday afternoon in what was described as an extraordinary encounter.

Commercial fishermen off Cape Cod were accompanied by a solitary orca Sunday afternoon in what was described as an extraordinary encounter.

The footage posted below, which begins with some salty language, shows the large male orca, or killer whale, surfacing behind the Finlander II as the fishermen dragged for scallops.

The footage was captured in overcast weather by a crewman.

Orcas, while they inhabit all of the world’s oceans, are rarely seen off Cape Cod.

Capt. Asher Molyneaux told Boston.com that he believes the killer whale is “Old Thom,” who generally travels alone and is spotted infrequently.

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The 30-foot mammal was documented off Cape Cod in 2016, according to Boston.com. Sightings of Old Thom also have occurred in the Bay of Fundy off Nova Scotia.

Molyneaux said it’s not unusual for sharks and large whales to appear alongside the boat, but added that Sunday’s sighting was extra special.

“They’ll all come around the boat, that’s not uncommon at all,” he said. “But I’ve never seen a killer whale, that’s for sure.”

Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family and can measure 30-plus feet and weigh 10-plus tons. They are top predators and prey sources vary depending on the region and the orcas’ ecotype.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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“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  

Tense moments for family as orca pushes and spins boat

A close orca encounter Tuesday in Puget Sound, Wash., included several anxious moments for a family whose boat was shoved and spun by the mammal.

A close orca encounter Tuesday in Puget Sound, Wash., included several anxious moments for a family whose boat was shoved and spun by the mammal.

“Why is it doing this?” Deb Syna, one of the boaters, asks in the accompanying footage.

The footage, captured by Syna and her 16-year-old daughter, Nina, begins with the male transient orca alongside their 17-foot boat. Syna’s husband, Dirk Morgan, also was aboard.

The boat was idle during the orca’s visit.

After Syna’s “Hi, how are you?” greeting the mammal begins to gently nudge and shove the vessel. “It’s pushing our boat!” Syna exclaims, and later adds, “Why is he spinning us?”

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(The second clip shows the orca swiftly pushing the boat.)

The family remained calm throughout the encounter, and at no time did the orca appear aggressive. But Syna was concerned enough to suggest to the killer whale, “Keep going. Go on,” and advise Nina to grab a safety railing.

Syna told the Orca Network, which shared both videos: “He played with the boat for about 10 minutes, going under and rocking, then pushing and then spinning us before he swam off.”

She explained to Go Skagit: “We went around a couple of times.”

Morgan, smartly, did not start the engine because that could have injured the mammal.

So why did the orca, a 17-year-old male cataloged as T65A2, behave in this manner?

The Orca Network’s Facebook posts inspired dozens of theories, while the Washington-based nonprofit offered what it considered the most plausible explanations:

“Some of the many possibilities for his behavior: trying to flush out prey, curiosity, aggression, play, enrichment, communication, and/or a behavior/communication in orca language that we humans don’t know or may never truly understand.”

Ralph Downs, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer, told Go Skagit: “It’s a rare thing, but every now and then they decide to get a little frisky. Sometimes the whales just decide to check us out and use us as toys.”