Encounter 29, November 4, 2021

This was a very special encounter of killer whales and humpback whales’ interaction.
Per Monterey Bay Whale Watch, at 11:44AM, we received reports from another vessel that five killer whales had killed an elephant seal and were being chased east by two humpback whales.
We arrived at 12:10 and saw the beginning of another hunt on a large, male California sea lion. In between hunting, they rolled around, tail slapped, and made close passes to the boat. They took turns carrying the carcass of the sea lion on their backs and shared it between the group. After the kill, we saw several breaches, spy hopping, and more rolling around as the group celebrated their successful hunt.
At approximately 12:45, humpbacks started approaching the area again. Initially there were two, but we ended up with FIVE humpbacks in the area antagonizing the killer whales as they attempted to hunt a second, smaller sea lion. The humpbacks would surface in between the group of killer whales and exhibit annoyance with them by trumpet blowing, charging and tail swishing. Once the second hunt ceased, the killer whales began antagonizing the humpback whales, making close passes to them, tail slapping and circling them. We left the scene at approximately 1:50, with the killer whales and the humpback whales still in the area together.
This group was previously sighted by Santa Barbara Channel on 10/30. They traveled approximately 234 miles in 117.5 hours. They covered an average of ~48 miles/day for five days, including predations, resting, and meandering. Their normal speed is 4-5 miles an hour when we are with them, and they can travel much faster.
Photos © 2021 Bob Western (All Rights Reserved). Caption on each image is copied from his original post.