orcas – 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.

Researchers encounter dozens of rare, shark-eating orcas; video

Footage shows the mysterious killer whales patrolling a submarine canyon off Monterey, Ca. “There were fins everywhere we looked.”

Researchers out of Monterey, Ca., on Thursday enjoyed a rare encounter with mysterious killer whales known to travel in massive pods and prey on deepwater sharks.

“There were fins everywhere we looked on the horizon,” Capt. Evan Brodsky, of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, told ForTheWin Outdoors. “They were spread out for miles.” (Video posted below.)

It was the first known encounter involving a large pod of “offshore” killer whales, or orcas, in Monterey Bay since November 2021.

Boaters in the region are far more likely to encounter “transient” orcas, which prey on other marine mammals, including gray whales.

Offshore killer whales, as their ecotype association implies, typically range far from shore between Southern California and Alaska. Brodsky’s footage shows them in sub-groups over a submarine canyon as close as six miles from shore.

He was with Tomoko Shimotomai and Colleen Talty of the California Killer Whale Project, and photographer Daniel Bianchetta. They were traveling west aboard a 20-foot inflatable boat when they spotted dorsal fins sprouting from the surface.

“We just kept moving west from group to group for another 12 miles, so at my furthest point we were 18 miles out,” Brodsky said, adding the entire pod included more than 60 orcas.

Nancy Black, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said offshore killer whale sightings, while rare, are more likely to occur during the winter. Pod sizes off California typically number 25 to 40 individuals, but they can be much larger.

Offshore killer whales prey largely on sharks, including deepwater sleeper sharks, which boast large and fatty livers. But the orcas also prey on fish, such as Pacific halibut and salmon.

Brodsky said his group did not witness feeding, but added: “There were a lot of birds around, and a very strong fishy, oily smell. Some of the other vessels in the area reported seeing fish scales in the water.”

He said that observing the offshore killer whales for the first time “was like winning the gold medal at the Olympics.”

Exotic orcas ambush dolphins off San Diego in striking new footage

Footage shows killer whales from Mexico cooperating as a unit to catch and kill faster, more agile dolphins.

The owner of a San Diego whale-watching company this week shared extraordinary footage showing Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales preying on dolphins during recent visits from Mexico.

The footage posted below, narrated by Domenic Biagini of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, reveals the graphic manner by which the orcas single out dolphins to kill and share with one another “just as we would at a family dinner.” (Viewer discretion is advised.)

The ETP orcas are more commonly encountered in the Sea of Cortez and elsewhere off Mexico. Their seasonal dolphin-hunting forays into Southern California, however, are becoming legendary.

MORE ORCAS: Watch an orca perform a “headstand” during San Diego sighting

The footage, captured over the past three weeks, opens with a humpback whale and massive fin whale lunge-feeding on anchovies, alongside hundreds of dolphins.

Then come the orcas in a segment that shows one orca blasting a dolphin airborne as the orca also soars perhaps 20 feet high. (Click here if video player does not appear below.)

More complex hunting behavior is revealed via drone footage as Biagini explains: “To overcome the dolphin’s superior speed and agility, the orcas work together as a coordinated unit.”

There’s a kill and a shared meal before a segment that shows a massive dolphin stampede preceding another successful hunt.

Dolphins stampede to escape orcas. Photo: Gone Whale Watching San Diego

“The orcas know that they can’t rely on speed alone to catch the dolphins,” Biagini explains. “But they can use the panic to their advantage, and in the chaos it’s unclear if [the dolphins] even realize what direction is safety and what direction is danger.”

Biagini describes the stampede-and-chase phenomenon as “one of the greatest natural spectacles on earth,” and those who view his footage might be inclined to agree.

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Watch: Orca performs ‘headstand’ during rare San Diego sighting

The Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, more commonly spotted off Mexico, are famously boat friendly.

When Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales visit San Diego waters via Mexico, it’s always exciting for observers.

For starters, the ETPs visit primarily to hunt common dolphins. These predation events, while deadly for dolphins, are acrobatic spectacles that showcase the orcas’ skills as cunning, top-level predators.

But also, ETP orcas are famously boat friendly and seemingly curious about their human admirers.

The accompanying footage, captured Dec. 4 by Capt. Erica Sackrison and deckhand Jess Aubry of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, shows an orca thrilling passengers by performing a “headstand” just feet beyond the vessel’s bow.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDOP0o5JH7v/

“He’s upside down!” one passenger exclaims in the footage, moments before the mammal raises its tail section above water.

Gone Whale Watching San Diego via Instagram:

“Christmas came early for the Gone Whale Watching family yesterday when a few members of the same pod of ETP Killer Whales made yet another memorable visit to San Diego!

“The notoriously boat-friendly orcas constantly interacted with our boats, making it clear they wanted ATTENTION! Us meager whale watchers were only too willing to oblige!”

ETP killer whale sightings off Southern California are rare, but this time of year is when most sightings occur.

Gone Whale Watching San Diego has logged three sightings involving members of the same orca pod over the past three weeks, and is hopeful for more encounters:

“While it is utterly impossible to predict when we’ll see them again, a string of recent sightings can only be taken as a positive omen!”

Watch: Orca launches 20 feet high while pursuing prey off San Diego

Footage from the rare encounter shows the orca “channeling his inner Top Gun” with an acrobatic assault on a common dolphin.

Boaters off San Diego on Saturday witnessed a rarely seen spectacle involving killer whales, or orcas, that are more commonly encountered much farther south in Mexico.

“Who needs SeaWorld when the greatest Orca show in the world is in the WILD!” Domenic Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, exclaimed via Instagram.

The accompanying footage, captured by the company’s Erica Sackrison, shows one orca ambushing a dolphin from below, sending the stunned mammal flying while launching at least 20 feet above the surface.

MORE: Orca bats seal 70 feet skyward

The Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas only show up a few times a year off San Diego and it’s almost always to hunt common dolphins, which are abundant off Southern California.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCwdOo2PFTp/

Biagini explained that the day’s excitement began with the sighting of a surface-feeding humpback whale and hundreds of dolphins.

Then, in the distance, dolphins began to stampede in a panic. A crewman noticed a splash from a larger mammal, indicating that a killer whale hunting party was present.

“Our initial thought was that a Humpback had done something surface active; when suddenly the unmistakeable shape of a Killer Whale exploded into the air!” Biagini wrote.

The orca in the footage is a previous visitor nicknamed Top Notch, because of distinctive markings. Biagini joked that Top Notch was “channeling his inner ‘Top Gun’ by rocketing 20-plus feet into the air in pursuit of a common dolphin breakfast.”

The orcas were not encountered Sunday.

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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’ seabird 20 feet high in wild scene caught on video

Footage captured in California’s Monterey Bay shows one orca using its flukes to fling a common murre nearly 20 feet skyward.

Orcas that prey on marine mammals sometimes “punt” seals or sea lions high into the air to stun the pinnipeds before meal time.

On Saturday in California’s Monterey Bay, one young orca was caught on video practicing its skills on a large seabird.

The accompanying footage, captured by Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the orca using its flukes to launch a common murre nearly 20 feet skyward.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_pMYU6xOcy/

“Killer Whales vs. Common Murres,” Brodsky described via Instagram. “Safe to say the Orca won. Bad Day to be a Murre.”

The killer whales, or orcas, were observed breaching and spyhopping near whale-watching vessels, while some were busy tormenting murres.

“They don’t call them demons from hell for nothing,” Brodsky joked in reference to the orcas, which did not eat any of the murres they harassed.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said Brodsky’s footage revealed “a perfect example of the punting behavior.”

The researcher added, “They’re practicing for the pinnipeds when they do this. 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.”

The California Killer Whale Project identified the six-member family unit as the CA51As, led by the matriarch, nicknamed Aurora.

Brodsky captured his footage from aboard the Point Sur Clipper. The image atop this post, captured by Capt. Warren Asher of the Sea Wolf II, shows one of the killer whales breaching next to the Point Sur Clipper.

Rescue dog has plenty to say during rare orca encounter; video

Footage shows the 5-year-old mixed lab/retriever reacting to several Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales swimming near the boat.

A pod of rarely seen orcas was a wonderful source of excitement for a group of San Diego whale watchers last Wednesday. But perhaps the most curious and enthusiastic member of the charter was a rescue dog named Fin.

The accompanying footage, captured by Domenic Biagini of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, shows a tethered Fin gazing intently at the orcas while expressing an apparent desire to leap overboard and greet them personally.

Bigaini imagined via Instagram how Fin might recall the encounter:

“Last week I got to meet the pod of Eastern Tropical Pacific Killer Whales that everyone was talking so much about last winter. As a lifelong HUGE fan of dolphins, it was such a treat to meet the biggest dolphins in the world!”

Fin added: “I told my dad that I wasn’t thrilled being confined to the middle part of the boat by two leashes, but my dad knew that I’d be a sea-puppy without those restraints! I just wanted a sniff!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_YRHT_v6WK/

The orcas were so close that Fin began to bark, but was quickly calmed.

The 5-year-old mixed lab/retriever, found in poor condition near the U.S.-Mexico border, has developed excellent sea legs and eagerly accompanies Biagini on his charters.

Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, most commonly encountered off Mexico, occasionally venture into Southern California waters to hunt dolphins and other marine mammals.

Gone Whale Watching San Diego encountered the ETPs last Wednesday and observed the mammals until sunset as they began to swim back toward Mexico.

Boaters encounter orca hunting party and scene is ‘bananas’

The extraordinary killer whale encounter off California featured an elephant seal kill an ‘orca party’ alongside the boat.

Those on an exploratory cruise to San Miguel Island off Ventura on Wednesday were massively rewarded with the discovery of 15 orcas attacking and feasting on a large elephant seal.

As if that weren’t enough, afterward the sleek and powerful mammals became playful and curious, unleashing an array of acrobatic behaviors as passengers and crew watched in awe.

“Yesterday was absolutely bananas [and] here are some photos to prove it,” Delaney Trowbridge, a Pacific Offshore Expeditions captain, exclaimed Thursday via Instagram. “What followed after the kill could only be described as an ‘orca party’ as they erupted into breaches, spyhops, and tail lobs!”

San Miguel Island, 70 miles west of Ventura, Ca., is extremely remote so Trowbridge and co-captain Ryan Lawler were fortunate that the gamble paid off beyond expectations.

“I have been lucky to enjoy many amazing encounters with killer whales in Southern California waters over the years, but this one was an 11 [out of a possible] 10,” Trowbridge stated.

The group first encountered a family pod of seven orcas porpoising at high speed.

Lawler, who captured video footage showing a portion of the seal hunt, explained via Instagram that the seven orcas led the group to two other family groups that had surrounded the seal. (See footage below.)

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

Northern elephant seals can weigh more than 4,000 pounds so a single seal is a blubbery prize for Bigg’s killer whales, which prey almost exclusively on other marine mammals.

Lawler continued: “The seal had no chance as it was surrounded by 15 Killer Whales, and they spent hours holding the seal captive as they bumped and harassed it before finally killing it.”

The orca family groups included the scientifically cataloged CA216Bs, the CA138s, and a portion of the CA27s, according to the California Killer Whale Project.

San Miguel Island, a major rookery for seals and sea lions, is not routinely visited by commercial whale-watching companies.

But Pacific Offshore Expeditions has scheduled a series of 8-hour whale-watching excursions and “Killer Whale Quests” within Channel Islands National Park, possibly including San Miguel Island.