Sometimes when we watch these super intelligent and social creatures we forget that they are predators as well. Orcas exist at the very top of the food chain, even larger sharks steer clear of them due to their ability to outthink and out maneuver even Great White Sharks. Even the majority of indigenous peoples that whaled for food respected the orcas power and intelligence and refrained from even trying to catch them. Out of the two ecotypes of Orcas that are often seen around here there is one type, the Transients, that preys on marine mammals. This usually includes Seals and Sea Lions in Salish Sea, but there are plenty of other options.
Captain Mike, Hannah, and I set out on an evening cruise on the M/V Sea Lion. We headed south towards the Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These huge trenches contain a lot of food for baleen whales and seals, and those in turn are food for the Transient Orcas. So this is a great place to looks. Somewhere deep in the Strait of Juan de Fuca we came across a family of Transient Orcas! It was the T65As, a family of five with mom, T65A, and four of her children. They are one of my favorite families and it’s always good to see them. They were traveling northwest through the strait and we watched how they slid through the water gracefully for a while. Transients are super stealthy since they are hunting smart marine mammals. Suddenly, there were splashes! The T65As had found something! It was a Minke Whale! These whales are about the same size as an orca, they are plankton feeders though, and also pretty fast for their robust body size. The orcas had snuck up on it and rammed it once, which cause the Minke to start darting away. Both Minke and Orcas were porpoising ina deadly race of gigantic proportions. The adult orcas managed to ram the Minke once again, but soon decided not to pursue. Maybe they weren’t that hungry or the Minke was too fast for the younger Orcas in the crowd, but that whale lucky got to live another day. As the T65As came together to socialize and breach a few times you could still see the Minke porpoising into the sunset. In my two years here that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen! Whale folks until next time.
Naturalist Erick
M/V Sea Lion