The first extraordinary sighting was of a small pod of blue whales engaged in courtship, and of one of the leviathans vocalizing above water.
It seemed nothing could top that, but days later a seldom-seen pod of killer whales herded a frightened sea lion alongside the same Southern California boat and spent two hours -- as passengers watched in awe -- teaching calves how to stalk prey (see top video, which is OK for the squeamish).
Between these was a very unusual sighting of two large sea turtles. So it was not only a magical week for the Christopher out of Long Beach. It was a truly remarkable week, in terms of the variety of rare sightings, that may be unrivaled.
Both large-mammal events appeared on network news. In the first, four blue whales were seen lunging, or racing, and chin-slapping in a follow-the-leader game of courtship. Blue whales, while they're off Southern California, spend almost every waking moment fattening up on shrimp-like krill, which bloom in certain areas. Courtship is rarely seen.
At least twice the largest whale surfaced alongside the vessel and, with its head above the surface, issued deep, low-pitch groans that lasted several seconds. Blue whale vocalizations can span hundreds of miles below water, but until this voyage above-surface vocalizations might never have been witnessed or recorded. "We heard it through the air, loud and clear," said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, an American Cetacean Society researcher. "It was a strange, alien sound. It really was an extraordinary thing."
Kera Mathes, an Aquarium of the Pacific naturalist, described the event as "astounding."
This was last Tuesday. The sea turtle sighting was Wednesday and the killer whale encounter was Friday. It involved a family unit of seven transient killer whales, which over time have been cataloged via photo identification. They include the matriarch, her four offspring (including a calf ), and her daughter's juvenile and calf. Both calves are less than a year old.
Transient killer whales, which prey on marine mammals, do not often venture as far south as Southern California. This unit appears sporadically but sightings are rare, and to witness a hunting event is even rarer.
The Christopher just happened to be in the area, less than two miles from shore, when the killer whales trapped a sea lion against the vessel's hull. The orcas made pass after pass, and repeatedly spyhopped (see photo), as if to get a glimpse from above water, as passengers marveled and an ABC news helicopter circled overhead. At times, the calves would rest atop their mothers at the surface.
Finally, darkness fell and the Christopher pulled away. The sea lion attempted to stay with the vessel, but only briefly. There were splashes in the wake, but the pinniped's fate was unclear.
Since then, blue whales have reclaimed the spotlight.
-- Transient killer whale image showing a calf resting on its mom is courtesy of Alisa Schulman-Janiger
Comments