whale watching – Syndication Server

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.”

Planet’s largest creatures begin to appear off Southern California

As blue whales begin to show off Southern California, a well-known photographer has shared a 2016 drone image that reveals the immense size of the planet’s largest creatures.

The accompanying image, captured by Mark Girardeau for Newport Whales, shows a blue whale dwarfing a large passenger vessel.

“The boat pictured is called Nautilus and is 72’ long,” Girardeau explained on Instagram. “That must mean the whale is like 140’ long right?

“Actually, the largest blue whale ever documented off California is around 90’ but due to the perspective of the photo, the whale just appears larger…. In this photo, there were about 85 [people] onboard and the whale is likely around 80’ long.”

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A post shared by Mark Girardeau (@markgirardeau)

Endangered blue whales, which number between 10,000 and 25,000 globally, can weigh more than 200 tons. They’re larger than all known dinosaurs.

They migrate into California waters beginning in late spring or early summer and spend several months, venturing as far north as Alaska, gorging on shrimp-like krill. (A single whale can devour more than 4 tons of krill per day.)

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Girardeau’s image provides a unique perspective because people on boats typically see only small portions of blue whales as they surface to breathe.

This week, first-of-season blue whale sightings were logged by Legacy Whale Watch in San Diego, and San Diego Whale Watch.

“We started our adventure heading straight west from Mission Bay as we had heard whispers of something big waiting out there for us,” San Diego Whale Watch reported Friday via Facebook. “We were quickly rewarded by sighting not just one – but three blue whales!”

Also on Friday, a blue whale was spotted off Point Vicente in Los Angeles County, by volunteers with the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.

The blue whale season for whale-watching operations in Southern California coincides with the waning weeks of the northbound gray whale migration.

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.”

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A post shared by Pacific Offshore Expeditions (@pacificoffshore)

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.

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.

Largest shark on planet wows boaters in rare California showing

A San Diego whale-watching company logged an extraordinary daily double Monday with sightings of a blue whale and a whale shark.

A San Diego whale-watching company logged an extraordinary daily double Monday with the sighting of a blue whale and a whale shark.

The blue whale is the planet’s largest creature, but the rarer sighting was that of the whale shark – the planet’s largest fish species – far north of its typical range.

“I always say ‘you never know what you’re going to see out there’ and today proved that!” San Diego Whale Watch boasted on Facebook. “Not only did we find hundreds of long-beaked common dolphins, but we found a blue whale, two Molas [sunfish] and a WHALE SHARK!”

Whale sharks, filter feeders that can measure 40-plus feet, are found in tropical waters around the world, including Mexico and Hawaii. Sightings off Southern California are exceedingly rare.

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But hot weather and light winds have allowed for unusually high sea surface temperatures, inviting exotic species such as dorado, or mahi-mahi, and at least the one whale shark.

(Blue whales, which can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons, feed off California every summer.)

The whale shark that greeted San Diego Whale Watch passengers and crew swam near the boat, allowing for lots of gawking and picture-taking.

The “gentle giants” are incredibly popular among scuba divers and snorkelers in areas they’re known to frequent.

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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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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.

Watch: ‘Luckiest anchovy in the world’ escapes voracious whale

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured video footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay has captured slow-motion footage showing an anchovy flying from the mouth of a lunge-feeding humpback whale.

Slater Moore Photography posted the footage to Instagram on Monday along with the description, “The luckiest anchovy in the world.” He put the amusing scene to Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cgu43BFjysx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Moore captured a remarkable moment considering that humpback whales typically lunge through massive schools of fish and can capture thousands in one gulp, yet only the one anchovy appears in the footage.

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The fish was obviously propelled upward by the force of the lunging whale, while wriggling in a flight for its life.

“Then a bird got him,” one of the commenters joked.

Reads another comment: “I don’t know… I think the seal on the right definitely saw that.”

–Image courtesy of Slater Moore Photography

Synchronized feeding? Whales wow tourists with stunning display

Passengers aboard a California whale-watching vessel on Tuesday watched in wonder as four humpback whales breached in unison while feeding on small fish.

The accompanying footage, captured by Johanna Domise of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the whales engaging in vertical lunge-feeding behavior.

The vessel was in neutral when the dramatic close encounter occurred, according to the company, which exclaimed on Facebook:

“Humpback whales can eat up to 2 million calories per day! In this video, you can see the whale’s throat pleats expanding, taking in up to 5,000 gallons of water while feeding!”

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Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 50 tons, are commonly encountered in Monterey Bay. They’re known for their spectacular breaches, close approaches, and the voracious manner by which they feed.

It’s not rare to capture vertical lunge feeding on video, but it’s not common to capture footage showing four whales exhibiting this behavior at almost precisely the same moment.

Watch: Jet-ski rider speeds over whale, almost hits boat

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a seemingly out-of-control jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a whale-watching boat.

A photographer has captured drone footage showing a jet-ski rider speeding directly over a gray whale and nearly slamming into a crowded whale-watching boat.

The accompanying footage was captured Sunday inside the L.A. Harbor breakwater by Daniel Genuth. It has no sound and is best viewed in full screen.

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The footage was subsequently shared by Eric Martin, head aquarist at the Roundhouse Aquarium in Manhattan Beach, who wrote on Facebook:

“As [Genuth] was filming the animals feeding, he got a very horrible surprise. The jet-ski operator not only almost hit the whale, but almost hit the [vessel] Christopher. Then a sailboat went right over the whale, while the whale was feeding. I have no clue what people are thinking anymore when it comes to logic and our environment.”

Various gray whales have been feeding sporadically on the sandy bottom inside the harbor since mid-February, Martin told FTW Outdoors. At least two feeding there Sunday.

The footage begins with a whale surfacing with sand flowing from both sides of its mouth. Gray whales forage on sandy bottoms for crustaceans and other small critters. The sandy patches in the footage were created by feeding whales.

The Christopher, from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach, is visible at the top of the screen. The jet ski blasts into the picture at 35 seconds, passing over a whale. The driver then speeds toward and veers within feet of the Christoper before continuing the joy ride.

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It’s unclear what happened next, or if the incident was reported to authorities. Harbor Breeze Cruises did not respond to inquiries by FTW Outdoors and did not mention the close call in its Sunday Facebook report.

It’s worth noting that the jet-ski driver might not have been aware of whales feeding inside the harbor, and might not have seen the mammals. But the driver obviously saw the 65-foot boat and high-speed passes such as this are dangerous, if not illegal.

Martin said the incident occurred beyond the low-speed, no-wake zone, but added: “I don’t think he was out of the stupid zone.”

Gray whales are currently migrating from nursing and mating regions of Baja California to summer feeding grounds in Arctic waters.