Orcas (Killer Whales) on Monterey Bay - Sep 2009
2,466 views · Published 20 February 2010 · 0:47 · Indexed 4 October 2026
Channel: W. Terry Hunefeld · 2010 · Pets & Animals
(Monterey) Every year I spend a week in Monterey going out on pelagic seabirding trips with legendary Debi Shearwater on her Shearwater Journeys pelagic adventures. On our 27 Sep 2009 trip we found a pod of Killer Whales. THE FOLLOWING FROM DEBI'S WEBSITE: From the get-go, the orcas were tail-lobbing and splashing quite a bit, thrashing all around. A single XANTUS' MURRELET flew off in between the orcas. Finally, as they approached our vessel, we were able to see that they appeared to be trying to kill an OCEAN SUNFISH, (Mola mola)! I've seen an adult male orca kill a Blue Shark, but never a Sunfish. The spyhopping, breaching and tail lobbing continued. Once, they went after a COMMON MURRE! (I've seen them kill a Rhinoceros Auklet). We were enjoying this show in beautiful, sunny weather, with calm seas! Then suddenly, some HUMPBACK WHALES appeared at our 10 o'clock. The orcas were at the 2 o'clock. Unbelievably, the three humpback whales made their way, keeping their ranks extremely close to each other, toward the orcas! It was hard to believe what we were seeing. I have seen orcas killing and chasing large baleen whales. But, this was the other way around! The humpbacks were chasing and bearing down on the killer whales! It was as if the humpbacks were acting like passerines that mob an owl. They seemed quite intent on their pursuit of the killer whales and came incredibly close to them. At least one of the humpbacks was making a racket with its blowing.*****************READ MORE: http://shearwaterjourneys.blogspot.com/2009/09/trip-report-sep-27-2009-monterey-bay.html************Debi Shearwater has been offering the best and most extensive menu of pelagic seabird and marine mammal trips in the world for more than 30 years. Being based in Monterey allows her the opportunity to schedule trips to the most productive pelagic bird sites on the west coast including Ft Bragg, Monterey Bay, Bodega Canyon and the Farallon Islands. http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com/index.shtml
