Whale watchers on an all-day charter Sunday out of Newport Beach enjoyed a rare sighting of false killer whales as the mammals feasted on tuna.
The accompanying footage, captured by Ryan Lawler of Pacific Offshore Expeditions, shows several false killer whales passing a freshly caught bluefin tuna among themselves in a prey-sharing behavior.
“A family of false killer whales shares a meal of sashimi,” reads part of the Facebook description.
The encounter occurred 60 miles offshore, near San Clemente Island, after nearly three hours spent on what seemed a deserted ocean.
“Then we saw shapes and birds on the horizon,” Lawler told FTW Outdoors. “When we first saw them they were spread out, and we were not expecting this.”
A bonanza for crew and four passengers: perhaps 75 false killer whales foraging in a bluefin tuna school, with black-footed albatrosses competing for scraps.
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The false killer whales were spread out in subgroups of six to 12 animals, such as the subgroup featured in Lawler’s footage.
False killer whales, which are dark gray and do not bear a strong resemblance to killer whales, are found in tropical and subtropical waters and rarely encountered off California.
However, sightings have increased in recent years, perhaps because of unusually warm ocean temperatures during summer months.
Like many dolphin species, false killer whales are highly social and develop strong bonds within their subgroups.
Prey sharing is common and fish and squid are chief prey items. Though catching tuna might seem a difficult task, false killer whales are powerful swimmers and are known to capture prey as deep as 1,600 feet.
“We also had a small pod of offshore bottlenose dolphins in the area mixing with the false killer whales, and it was really cool,” Lawler remarked. “We were with them for at least three hours and everyone onboard had never seen this species before.
“It was my probably my 10th time seeing this species since 2016. But it was my first time seeing them eat tuna.”
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