Pete Thomas Outdoors

False killer whales make rare appearance in Sea of Cortez

Mark Rayor has lived in Baja California's East Cape region for more than 15 years, guiding sportfishing and diving trips.

He has seen plenty. But on Monday morning, Rayor was visited by a pod of cetaceans that he could not positively identify.

They turned out to be false killer whales, which are large toothed whales that generally reside in the open ocean.

The rare sighting was at about 8 a.m. at the northern end of Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park. 

"We have seen what I thought were false killer whales but they looked different," Rayor said. "At first that is what we thought they were but then we had doubts. They just hung around and played with our panga until we left."

False killer whales were named because they share feeding habits of some killer whales, or orcas--notably because they also attack and kill other cetaceans. (Both are actually dolphins.)

They're smaller than killer whales, however, measuring to about 20 feet (females to about 15 feet) and weighing to about 1,500 pounds.

Like killer whales, false killer whales establish strong social bonds and typically travel in groups of 10 to 20.

“False killer whales are typically found in deep, offshore, tropical to semi-tropical oceans and they feed on large game fish,” said Annie Douglas, a researcher with Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Wash. “However, they occasionally come into more coastal waters or stray into colder climates.

“They are very gregarious and are one of the few cetaceans that share there food with their group, and there have been numerous accounts of individual false killer whales offering food to divers and swimmers as well!”

Falkse killer whales are also known to strand on beaches, sometimes in much larger groups, in some parts of the world.

They're studied extensively in Hawaiian waters, where one of three distinct populations--a tiny population associated with the main islands--was recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

--Pete Thomas

--Photos of false killer whales are courtesy of Mark Rayor/Jen Wren Sportfishing

Orca gives surfing exhibition behind Malibu Baywatch boat

 

Last week we shared a story about killer whales surfing in a boat's wakes off La Paz, Mexico, and referred to prior sightings of this this rarely observed behavior elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez.

Now there's evidence, courtesy of boat captain Eric Astourian of Baywatch Malibu, that at least one orca has been surfing recently off Southern California.

The accompanying video shows a young killer whale, or orca, riding behind a Baywatch boat on May 4 off northern Malibu. (The footage was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday.)

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a killer whale researcher, says the mammal probably is a 2 1/2-year-old female cataloged as CA51d and nicknamed Comet because of its distinctive eyepatch. (Comet is pitcured at right in a photo taken in 2011 off Point Fermin on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.)

That would make sense because the CA51 family group of transient killer whales has been spotted recently in Southland waters--most recently on Saturday off Dana Point.

Though most transient killer whale sightings occur farther north and specifically in the Monterey area, the CA51s are becoming regular visitors to Southern California, and they're famously boat friendly.

They include the mom (CA51), her 15-year-old son (CA51B), her younger son (CA51C), and Comet (CA51D).

--Pete Thomas

Photo credit: Alisa Schulman-Janiger

It's a boy! Aquarium of the Pacific has a new harbor seal pup

The Aquarium of the Pacific on Wednesday proudly announced the arrival of a bouncing baby boy--a harbor seal pup that becomes the first male seal born at the Long Beach facility.

Not surprisingly, the adorable little pinniped looks a lot like his parents, Shelby and Troy.

The new pup entered the world on May 1 weighing about 30 pounds. He'll be placed on display at the Seal & Sea Lion Habitat exhibit in mid- to late summer.

Meanwhile, AOP is asking for the public's help in naming the baby seal through its Adopt an Animal program, which allows individual or groups to adopt animals at a minimum cost of $25.

Those who enter the program before June 30 will be allowed to suggest names, and the aquarium staff will decide which of those names will belong to the seal pup.

Shelby has been at the aquarium since 1998. Troy, which had been the facility's only male harbor seal, has been there since 2007.

This is Shelby's second pup. The first, a female named Bixby, was born in April 2012.

--Photos showing the Aquarium of the Pacific's new harbor seal pup, alone and with mom, were taken by Robin Riggs

Killer whales thrill boaters by riding, leaping in vessel's wake

Killer whales are the undisputed masters of the marine universe. They're powerful and ferocious, but also graceful and, at times, playful. The accompanying footage shows a pod of up to 20 killer whales, or orcas, riding and leaping in wakes created by a speeding dive boat off La Paz, Mexico.

 

The footage was captured by Rich and Laura Howard, who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on a dive trip outside of La Paz, in the Sea of Cortez.

They were understandably excited because this was an extremely close encounter involving apex predators that rarely ride in the wakes of boats.

However, it has happened before in the Sea of Cortez. Last June and October, to the north of La Paz off Loreto, boaters aboard the same 70-foot yacht enjoyed similar encounters and captured some extraordinary images.

In those images, as in the Howards’ video footage, the orcas definitely look to be playing and enjoying themselves.

Expedition captures rare footage of orcas attacking sperm whales; photographer 'summons courage' to dive overboard

Encountering a pod of killer whales engaged in a savage assault on sperm whales would generate the thrill of a lifetime for most maine mammal enthusiasts. But imagine the adrenaline rush produced by witnessing this raw spectacle from underwater.

Shawn Heinrichs did just that during a recent expedition off Sri Lanka. He and five others had been searching for eight days for blue whales, unsuccessfully. Then they spotted a commotion in the distance, and soon realized they were witnessing an event few others had seen or photographed.

When they got closer, and could hear the thrashing of whales and pounding of their tails, Heinrichs clutched his cameras and jumped overboard.

 

"We had no idea what was going to happen to him and we hoped for the best," said his brother, Brett. "When I saw he wasn’t eaten, I jumped in after him.”

To be sure, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Heinrich, a cinematographer and founder of Blue Sphere Media, made the most of it.

Though the underwater footage is compelling, some of the above-surface images illustrate the apparent anguish among the six or seven sperm whales under assault, in what was an attempt by the killer whales to separate a juvenile sperm whale from the pod.

(Killer whales are supreme predators and off California and Alaska are notorious for killing gray whale calves in this same manner: by separating calves from their mothers in what is typically a coordinated but drawn-out process.)

Heinrich was with Brett and four others when they spotted the commotion.

"As we drew closer it quickly came into focus," Heinrich states in his blog and in the video footage. "A huge dorsal fin cut the surface and changed into a logjam of rolling long dark shapes. Almost in unison we shouted, 'Orcas attacking sperm whales!' I had never heard of such a thing and certainly never imagined I would see it with my own eyes."

There seemed to be five killer whales, or orcas, versus perhaps six sperm whales, which were postured in a defensive position throughout a coordinated assault by much swifter mammals.

Heinrichs was first to jump in and wondered "if I would become easy prey for the most formidable predators in the ocean." (Killer whales have never been documented attacking a human in the wild.)

After settling at a comfortable depth, Heinrich noticed "a frothing, dark pile of shapes ahead of me."

The largest of the killer whales turned and approached this strange intruder.

"I had heard warnings before about the extreme dangers of swimming with transient orcas, especially when these apex predators are engaged in a hunt," Heinrichs wrote. "But in my heart I knew they were highly intelligent and evolved creatures who 'should' have no interest in hurting me."

It became too difficult to keep up with the action in the water so Heinrichs and the others climbed back aboard and followed with the boat as the killer whales ultimately claimed what they were after: the younger sperm whale.

"Dorsal fins sliced the surface on all sides, bodies rolled, and huge tails violently crashed down, as the sea turned to a frothing, churning mess," Heinrichs wrote.

If anyone was rooting for the sperm whales there was hope, as it was unclear to the crew whether the killer whales claimed the juvenlie sperm whale as their next meal.

“We observed the family of sperm whales regroup and charge eastward as the orcas briefly gave chase then peeled off. And then it was all over,” Heinrich concluded. “For me, this was without a doubt the most incredible encounter I had ever experienced in the oceans, and something I will never forget.”

--Pete Thomas

Humpback whale stranded on shoal rescued in La Paz Bay

 

A juvenile humpback whale that had become stranded in shallow water in La Paz Bay was rescued Sunday by authorities and citizens who used a rope and boats to pull the cetacean into deeper water.

According to Octavo Dia, the rescue effort lasted two-plus hours and the whale seemed to swim freely away despite the long and very dramatic ordeal.

(The accompanying Cabovision video shows part of the rescue effort, including the whale being pulled from the shoal. It does not show the whale swimming to freedom.)

"The effort followed the protocol for marine mammal rescue," Octavo Dia reported. "The struggle to save the whale lasted over two hours, but the successful results incited elated uproar in the concerned witnesses."

The whale had become stranded beyond El Coromuel Beach during low tide. El Coromuel is north of La Paz, which is the capital of Baja California Sur. Among those assisting in the rescue effort were members of a local stranding network.

Jonathan Roldan, who runs the Tailhunter International sportfishing business in La Paz, posted this statement along with four photos on its Facebook page:

"Hope you got to see this yesterday. It was incredible. About 30 pangas and launches out there trying to help this stranded whale right off the beach on one of the shoals. Folks were lined up in the streets with cameras and binoculars."

--Photo is courtesy of Octavo Dia

Killer whales attack pod of sperm whales off Sri Lanka (video)

 

Brett Heinrichs on Sunday uploaded rare video footage showing killer whales attacking a pod of sperm whales to get to one of its calves. (Video posted above; not for the squeamish.)

The footage was shot from a boat during a recent expedition off Sri Lanka, but some of of the crew jumped in during this dramatic predation event.

"Our hearts pounded as we watched the orcas tear into these sperm whales many times their size," said Shawn Heinrichs, Brett's brother and founder of Blue Sphere Media. "When I garnered the courage to jump into the water and join the frenzy, all eyes fixed on me, wondering if I would become easy prey for these formidable apex predators."

The underwater footage has not yet been released. Shawn Heinrichs, however, said he was approached by two male killer whales and captured several close passes.

Killer whales, or orcas, are merciless predators and when targeting whales they usually work as a team to separate a calf from its mother and, in this case, the rest of the pod.

Brett Heinrichs wrote in the comments section of his video:

"I believe the orcas killed the youngest calf. We saw six sperm whales upon arrival and five eventually left the scene. At one point we saw the youngest calf separated from the pod and being hammered by orcas."

--Pete Thomas

--Hat tip to Tim Zimmermann

'Delta' the blue whale taxis into Southland waters; sporadic sightings off California date to 1987

A blue whale affectionately nicknamed Delta because of the peculiar shape of its fluke made quite a splash on Facebook last week after being photographed off Dana Point.

The whale earned the nickname because both ends of its fluke are turned upward, like winglets on an airplane wing. Facebook users posting comments shared where they had seen--or thought they had seen--the whale.

According to Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, two blue whales with similar fluke formations have been photo-cataloged in the eastern Pacific. The image captured last week off Dana Point, by Frank Brennan of Dana Wharf Whale Watch, was matched to a whale cataloged as #135 (see video).

 

Annie Douglas of Cascadia stated via email that the first known sighting of  #135 (Delta) was on October 7, 1987, in the Gulf of the Farallones beyond San Francisco.

Before last week's sighting it had been encountered 15 different years (including two years off Baja California) and 29 times, based on photo matches. From 1987 to 2005 most encounters were off northern Central California but, interestingly, according to Cascadia's records, all known sightings since 2007 were off Southern California.

About 2,000 endangered blue whales ply California waters seasonally, with the 2013 season apparently just getting underway. Delta, it seems, is among the early arrivals.

It's not clear whether the shape of the mammal's fluke is because of a birth defect, but the right tip appears to be more upturned than in previous years.  Also, Douglas said, the sex of #135, or Delta, is not known.

--Pete Thomas

--Note: For more on this story see Dana Wharf's Facebook page and Pete's post on GrindTv's Big Blue blog

Dolphin 'funeral procession' witnessed off Dana Point (video)

 

The waters off Dana Point on Tuesday were the scene of what one boater described as a dolphin funeral procession.

The accompanying footage shows a bottlenose dolphin, presumably a mother, carrying her dead calf on her back, while other dolphins followed close by. (Cetaceans have been known to tote dead offspring in what appears to be mourning behavior, but the phenomenon is rarely witnessed.)

The macabre episode revealed that not every mammal sighting is a cause for celebration, and that dolphins, like people, experience the loss of young and deal with that loss in ways that are both sad and touching.

The footage was provided by Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari (above) and Dana Wharf Whale Watch (below).

"I believe this calf has been dead for many days, possibly weeks," Capt. David Anderson states in his video description. "You can see the flesh is decaying. In my nearly twenty years on the water whale watching I have never seen this behavior. Nor have I ever seen anything quite as moving as this mother who refuses to let go of her poor calf."

Said Tony Green, a passenger aboard the Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari vessel: "The last thing I expected to see today was a funeral procession and it was a pretty profound statement about the emotions that those animals feel and how much … alike we are."

 

Researchers deploy drones to spy on sperm whales

Drones are being developed at an increasingly rapid pace and privacy watchdogs are concerned about the way the unmanned aircraft might be used. But for one group of scientists ramping up the use of drones, there will be no complaints from the study subjects: large whales.

Wayne Perryman, a marine biologist for NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, recently returned from a pioneering spy expedition to the South Pacific, where two drones were tested in the study of sperm whales.

Perryman was among the first scientists to adapt military spy technology to monitor dolphin populations in the 1980s (when thousands of dolphins were dying in tuna nets).

He had also used unmanned aircraft to study penguins and leopard seals on land. 

Perryman, additionally, has studied whales extensively from airplanes, gleaning such information as age, weight and whether a whale is injured, entangled in fishing gear or pregnant.

But airplane research is costly, invasive and impractical. Large planes cannot be flown closely to the mammals without altering their behavior.

Much smaller, quieter drones, on the other hand, are inexpensive and can be flown almost directly overhead. (Said Perryman via email: "I tend to call them unmanned aerial systems (UAS) rather than drones because of the knee-jerk negative reaction in some about drones.")

In the South Pacific off New Zealand, however, Perryman learned first-hand the challenges associated with piloting unmaned aircraft from a small research boat (large boats cannot get close enough to the whales).

"Catching the bird from an active deck was a bit like trying to catch a knuckleball bare-handed," Perryman said in an NOAA report on the drone aspect of the expedition. He was working with Don LeRoi, an engineer with Aerial Imaging Solutions.

Like so many drones being produced today, theirs was built using inexpensive electronics and consumer-grade cameras. Because of the knuckleball effect, and at least one of the small vessels ending up in the water, the two are designing a model that's entirely waterproof and designed for splash landings, for retrieval by net.

Perryman also is planning a second mission, during which he intends to send the drone directly over the whales' blowholes and through their towering plumes, as they're exhaling. The mist contains various cells and enzymes that can reveal a DNA profile, hormone levels and other indications of a whale's health and physiology.

"If you're going to manage a population of whales, you need to know more than just how many there are," Perryman said. "You have to know something about the condition of the animals in the population." Drones, it seems, will become the ideal spy tools to help determine just that.

--Photos: Top image shows Wayne Perryman attempting to catch an incoming drone. Third image  shows Perryman (left) and Don Leroi inspecting an unmanned aircraft. Credit Moira Brown/New England Aquarium. Middle image shows view from a drone. Courtesy of Wayne Perryman/NOAA Fisheries

--For more information on the Sperm Whales New Zealand project, check out the expedition blog.

--Note: This is a reprint from a Pete Thomas post on GrindTv.com