Tag: punting

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.

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.

Ravens’ 2022 season in review: Special Teams

We analyze the Ravens’ 2022 special teams unit

Fundamentally sound play on special teams has been a core aspect of the Baltimore Ravens’ strategy over the years, and their 2022 campaign was no different. Though Lamar Jackson’s injury near the end of the season derailed the momentum that Baltimore had built earlier in the year, the Ravens’ special teams unit stepped up in a big way while the offense operated with backup quarterbacks, and helped keep the team in the playoff picture.

Over the course of 2022, kicker Justin Tucker missed just six field goal attempts and one extra point. He led the team in scoring by a wide margin, ending the season with over eight points scored per game, which was under six points more per game than running back Kenyan Drake, who managed two and a half per game.

On the other end of the special teams operation, punter Jordan Stout racked up 2,618 punting yards on 57 punts, good for an average of 45.9 air yards. Though the raw numbers seem impressive on the surface, his air yards per punt average was only good for 25th place across the league’s punters, which leaves plenty of room for improvement in 2023.

His coverage team allowed just 155 return yards on punts throughout the season, which ranked fifth in the league among punters who started 16 or more games over the course of their teams’ schedules.

Tucker’s job is secure as ever heading into next season, and his reputation as one of the NFL’s top kickers remains intact. Stout, on the other hand, may see his role challenged by competition if Baltimore decides to bring in another leg during training camp, and if he can’t show signs of improvement over the course of next season, could face major competition for his job.

Long snapper Nick Moore impressed as well, getting a bid to the 2023 Pro Bowl Games. He has performed admirably ever since stepping in for Morgan Cox a few seasons ago, and is one of the most consistent players at his position.

Punt and kick returns are also a big aspect of special teams, and Pro Bowl returner Devin Duvernay didn’t disappoint, showing his electricity in both aspects. He is one of the best return specialists in the league, and showed it on plenty of occasions before going down with a season-ending injury.