A Southern California whale-watching operator on Thursday captured dramatic images showing a rarely seen type of killer whale preying on dolphins.
Domenic Biagini, who runs Gone Whale Watching San Diego, also enjoyed an extraordinary encounter with Curvier’s beaked whales during an experience he likened to “hitting the lottery twice in one day.”
“We believe we are the first Southern California whale-watching company to ever photograph a beaked whale on an official whale-watching trip!” Biagini boasted on Facebook. “We found a pair of the deepest diving animals on the planet near San Clemente Island, and one even approached our boat!”
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After the beaked whale encounter, Biagini and his passengers encountered three Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, or orcas, off Santa Catalina Island.
The ETPs, as they’re often called, were feeding on common dolphins and scattering the frightened pod. Biagini told For The Win Outdoors that the manner by which they were able to catch the smaller cetaceans seemed “effortless.”
One male orca snatched a dolphin with its jaws and seemed to show off his catch to Biagini’s charter the same way a pet cat might show off a freshly caught mouse. (See top photos.)
“They brought it right over to our boat,” Biagini said.
ETP killer whales, which are known to prey on dolphins, are seen only sporadically off Southern California.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a Southern California-based killer whale researcher, said a male ETP that Biagini encountered was also spotted off Catalina last August.
Curveir’s beaked whales are rarely encountered off Southern California, largely because they inhabit pelagic waters and tend to remain far offshore.
They feed primarily on squid, but also prey on deep-water fish. A 2014 tracking study off California revealed that Curvier’s beaked whales will dive nearly 10,000 feet beneath the surface in search of prey.
–Images of ETP killer whales and Curvier’s beaked whales are courtesy of Domenic Biagini/Gone Whale Watching San Diego