Killers in our waters

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/30/BAGGTNR5FK1.DTL

Saw this link on the fishsniffer.

-Brian G

Killer whales have also been sighted in the Monterey bay feeding on salmon and grey whales.Two seasons ago a grey whale carcass floated up into the kelp off Capitola,it appeared to have only the tongue and part of the lower jaw eaten away.Possibly the work of killers.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that the salmon eating pods eat almost exlcusively fish. Then the tertiary pods are the meat eaters that attach seals and other whales?

-Brian G

We need more seal and sealion eating Orcas in this area .

In the BBC produced series "Blue Planet", a group of transient killer whales in Monterey Bay separates a baby gray whale from its mother then they drown it eating only its lower jaw and tongue.  Absolutely awesome footage.  I wonder if that was the same whale that Aaron mentioned.  I think you can get it on Netflix.  These are not the same group of whales being seen off the Golden Gate.  Seems like these resident whales are just out looking around for fish at a time when salmon schools are not in big numbers yet in Puget Sound.  It is only January.  The author then trys to link Sacramento and Klamath salmon, seems kind of alarmist.  They could be going after fish other than salmon, how about blackcod or maybe even humboldt squid????  The author is definitely stretching it (unresponsibly) that just because these whales off our CA coast, that fact alone, that it is an indication of low salmon numbers off Oregon and Washington.  The fact that these residents are off the golden gate should have been a neat story in itself without linking it to dwindling salmon numbers and last years "salmon wars." 

Alarmist indeed.

You can find many range maps on the internet showing that the Southern Resident Killer Whales' historical range extending down to the Bay Area.

-Allen

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that the salmon eating pods eat almost exlcusively fish. Then the tertiary pods are the meat eaters that attach seals and other whales?

-Brian G

Apparently there are four types

"But her primary focus has been on the Los Angeles Pod, or L.A. Pod , a highly unusual and elusive gang of killer whales that have long prowled the waters immediately off of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Named by Schulman-Janiger in 1984, after her first on-the-water encounter with the group, the L.A. Pod is distinctly different from the three known types of killer whale populations, known in the marine world as "eco-types."

Called transients, residents and offshores, the three existing eco-types are differentiated from each other by their behavior, eating habits, appearance and vocalizations. DNA tests have confirmed that the three types are genetically distinct from one another.

The L.A. Pod, however, appears to be in a class all its own.

Much smaller and more muscular than the others, they have their own vocalization dialect, unique markings, a one-of-a-kind dorsal fin shape and a penchant for lurking very close to shore, opportunistically feeding on fish and marine mammals."

Opportunivores, vain, unique dialect. Typical LA.
.

We Saw Orca off trinidad bay here last spring, cruising for baby Whales making the northbound migration. They eat up a number of our seals every year

 

Awesome video. Not sure if it has been posted here before. Saw this link over on the fishsniffer.

-Brian G

Wow, is that real video? 

I don't if that is real or not. It was used in a poweraide commerical at some point.

There was another video of a similiar event that is fake, but I can't seem to find it.

-Brian G

 

Awesome video. Not sure if it has been posted here before. Saw this link over on the fishsniffer.

-Brian G

I hate when that happens!

It's fake... you guys got suckered again