Pete Thomas Outdoors

Young orca found dead near Vancouver; are iconic mammals starving to death?

By Pete Thomas

The critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population suffered another devastating loss this week, as the body of a popular male orca was discovered floating near Vancouver, Canada.

According to CBC, the carcass was spotted late Tuesday. The mammal was towed to shore Wednesday by Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which performed a necropsy.

The Center for Whale Research later confirmed that the dead killer whale is an 18-year-old from J Pod, cataloged as J34 and nicknamed Doublestuf.

“Our hearts go out to his mom and brother and entire clan,” Howard Garrett, who runs the Orca Network, wrote on Facebook.

J Pod is one of three Southern Resident pods struggling to maintain viable populations amid dwindling salmon runs off the Pacific Northwest. (King salmon represents the chief prey source for the killer whales.)

J34 becomes the fifth member of J Pod to have died this year, reducing the pod’s number to 25. (K Pod has 19 animals, and L Pod has 35. The overall Southern Resident population is just 79.)

 

J34 being towed to shore by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans

The cause of J34’s death is not known, but he was reported to have appeared noticeably thin during recent sightings. Also, the necropsy revealed signs of physical injury.

The cause of death for the four other J Pod members was not determined because bodies were not recovered – the animals simply vanished.

But it appears as through Southern Residents as a whole are suffering from a slow starvation, thanks to dams and other development projects that have impacted salmon runs.

“[The orcas] go through periodic bouts of nutritional deficiency," Garrett told KOMO. "There's just not enough of the Chinook salmon and the Coho Chum salmon, which are basically all they will eat."

J34 (right) and his mom. Photo: ©Meg McDonald/Wild Northwest Beauty Photography

The death of J34 has saddened those within the regional whale-watching industry, but it’s likely also to have created a void among the orcas themselves.

Said Heather MacIntyre, a captain and naturalist for Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching on San Juan Island:

“Another death in an already fragile population of endangered Southern Resident orcas is a tough blow. Selfishly, we all want to speak of our encounters and experiences with these unique individuals, but the real loss of this iconic orca will be felt by his family.

“He and his maturing brother were incredibly close. His loss with no doubt be felt. You wonder what it's going to take for our American and Canadian governments to protect these waters, and its inhabitants.

“Our orcas keep dying, and yet we see no policy changes when it comes to regulation on salmon fisheries, tanker/deep sea traffic, or farm-raised salmon fisheries. It’s imperative that we all remain positive, and continue in our efforts to bring about change. The future depends on our ability to remain vigilant in hope for a brighter future.”

Sometimes, even critically endangered orcas need to go for a surf (video)

By Pete Thomas

When the opportunity presents itself, even critically endangered killer whales may not be able to resist the urge to go for a surf.

Video showing Southern Resident killer whales riding waves generated by a container ship was posted to Facebook last week by The Inertia. (Video posted below.)

The footage, credited to John Porter, was widely viewed and appreciated because it’s not often that killer whales, or orcas, are documented riding waves.

Porter, the ship’s captain who was unaware that his footage had been lifted by The Inertia, said this occurred Aug. 23 as he traversed Boundary Pass near the U.S.-Canada border. The video gained little traction then, but since last week it has been circulating on marine mammal-themed pages.

Heather MacIntyre, a captain and naturalist for Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching, shared the video and wrote on Facebook:

“I was on the other side of this watching the K13s surf the deep sea wake- it was incredible (and also a little terrifying for me to see).”

MacIntyre, who provided the photos that accompany this post, said, “All seven members of the K13 matriline started surfing these waves. They were dangerously close, yet totally aware of their surroundings."

The K13s represent a family group within the Southern Resident K Pod, which totals only 19. The entire Southern Resident population, including the J Pod and L Pod, numbers only 80 animals.

K13, a.k.a Skagit, is a mother and grandmother with four living offspring. All surfed together.

“They maintained a speed of 18 miles-per-hour for about fifteen minutes, a testament to their incredible endurance, which is no doubt the result of masterful evolution,” MacIntyre continued. “Despite the damage that a ship or propeller strike might cause, these large dolphins decided to engage the ship. They broke off from the rest of the Southern Residents and rushed over to the ship.”

Southern Resident killer whales have not recovered from a 10-year period (1967-75) of captures for marine parks and declines in salmon fisheries. Chinook salmon are the main prey item, and a single orca needs between 18-25 salmon per day to maintain energy requirements.

It remains unclear how much energy is spent surfing the wake of a container ship.

–Images are courtesy of Heather MacIntyre and protected by copyright laws

Offshore killer whales catch large shark off Monterey; video possibly first of its kind

By Pete Thomas

Not a lot is known about the feeding habits of offshore killer whales, but sevengill sharks can now be added to their list of known prey items.

Slater Moore, a photographer for Monterey Bay Whale Watch, captured drone footage Tuesday showing the mysterious orcas passing around a live sevengill. The extraordinary clip reveals an adult killer whale clutching the shark in its jaws. The mammal eventually releases its grip so other orcas can pick up the shark.

This appears to have been a teaching experience for very young calves, which also can be seen in the footage.

“It’s a very rare sighting, and a very unique observation,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, director of the California killer whale project, adding that she was unsure if drone footage showing shark predation by offshore orcas had previously existed.

Stated Moore on Facebook:“So lucky to get to see this!”

RELATED: Sometimes, even critically endangered orcas need to go for a surf (video)

Offshore killer whales, first identified in 1988, are known to prey on sleeper sharks, opah, tuna, and other pelagic fishes. This might be the first documentation of the mammals preying on a sevengill shark.

Offshore killer whales are more common off British Columbia, Canada, but even sightings in that region are rare. The mammals were first documented off California in 1992, in Monterey Bay.

Interestingly, offshore killer whales were spotted in Monterey Bay last Dec. 13, one year to the day before Tuesday’s sighting.

Rare sperm whale sighting off Palos Verdes; pod might exceed 100 animals

Sperm whale surfaces off Trump golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes. Photo: ©Tim Hammond/Harbor Breeze Cruises

*Updated with drone video at 10 p.m.

By Pete Thomas

Dozens of sperm whales were spotted Monday afternoon off Trump National Golf Club on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, sending marine mammal enthusiasts scrambling to locate them from boats.

The extremely rare sighting – single foraging males are occasionally seen, but this is a nursery pod including young whales – comes during a six-day period that has included rare sightings of two types of killer whales in Southland waters.

Harbor Breeze Cruises was with the sperm whales during two afternoon excursions on Monday. Capt. Mike Redlew of the La Espada said after the first trip that the pod exceeded 100 animals. They were spread out in sub-groups and traveling to the south, toward Long Beach.

Said Tim Hammond, a photographer aboard the boat: "They were literally all around the boat. Everywhere you looked there was a blow, it was incredible."

Sperm whales, iconic toothed whales that prey on giant squid, last showed in force in October 2014 off Orange County, as a pod numbering about 50 animals.

At the time, Jay Barlow, a sperm whale expert with NOAA, said that he knew of only one other instance where a large group of sperm whales had passed between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland.

According to the latest estimate by NOAA, the minimum population of sperm whales off California, Oregon, and Washington is about 750 animals.

Sperm whale flukes before a dive off Rancho Palos Verdes. Photo: ©Tim Hammond/Harbor Breeze Cruises

They spend most of their time feeding so far offshore that they’re rarely seen.

Because of Monday’s sighting, and the whales' southerly course, whale-watching operations in Orange and San Diego County will be on full alert Tuesday.

Last Wednesday, about 50 offshore killer whales spent much of the day off Orange County, in another extremely rare showing. Over the weekend, offshore killer whales and transient killer whales were spotted in different areas off Ventura.

–Drone video via Capt. Ryan Lawler of Newport Coastal Adventure

 

Light-tackle angler lands 112-pound blue catfish in North Carolina

 

By Pete Thomas

A North Carolina angler has gained notoriety for catching blue catfish so massive that when he hoisted the behemoth in front of his body, it covered most of his face.

“Looks like this fish caught the man,” wrote Donald Edward Bolin, in the comments thread beneath one of Riahn Brewington’s Facebook posts.

Brewington reeled the 112-pound lunker from the Cape Fear River the day before Thanksgiving, but gained little notoriety until late last week, when news stations were alerted to photos being shared via social media.

Despite its colossal appearance, and a girth suggesting that this fish has never missed a meal, the big blue fell 5 pounds shy of the North Carolina record, and 31 pounds shy of the world record: a 143-pound blue catfish caught at Virginia’s Kerr Lake in 2011.

 

But it’s still a rare and impressive catch, especially when you consider that Brewington used a light-tackle rod and 10-pound-test line, which is designed for much smaller game.

“Being that big, I thought it would have snapped the line,” Brewington told ABC affiliate WWAY. “But I didn’t realize how big he was until I actually got my hands underneath him.”

After weighing his catch and posing for photos, Brewington placed the catfish in the water and watched it swim away.

While this is admirable, it might not come as comforting news for parents who let their children swim in the Cape Fear River.

–Image is courtesy of Riahn Brewington (pictured) and Dean Hall