Encounter 31 - November 12, 2021

On 12 November 2021, we arrived at 3646.45 N, 12154.55W at 10:59. Approximately 80-100 killer whales were spread over 2-3 miles, in at least 12 subgroups averaging 5-6 whales. We observed lots of tail slapping (aka lob-tailing, a favorite behavior seen during most of our offshore killer whale encounters) and milling. The whales were moving west, following each other. Some dispersed, some picked up speed with rooster-tailing and bow-riding, and others were very curious and dove close to the boat. Over the next two and half hours, new sub-groups appeared and others left (some headed SW and others NW). It was reported that some were carrying a shark carcass!
Among hundreds of photos that we are still going through, we identified multiple whales including O87 (the first identified offshore killer whale in CA) and her daughter O231.Others present included O77 and O79: this is very likely their first confirmed sighting in California! These ""O"" (for offshore) ID numbers were originally established by Graeme Ellis (DFO: Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and colleagues. We are currently working with Graeme to ID more individuals, and will do a follow-up post.
*O87: The first known offshore killer whale sighting in California: in Monterey Bay during the ACS (American Cetacean Society) Biennial Conference whale watching trip on 6 November 1992, 29 years ago! Our CEO & Director of Research Nancy Black and Lead Research Biologist Alisa Schulman-Janiger were on board. They saw 20+ whales - including O87! Capturing IDs was very difficult, as they were racing at high speed during this encounter!
*O87: Long-distance match! Alisa has matched O87 and her daughter O231 from Dana Point, California to the Bering Sea!
*Fun Facts! **24 years ago, on 12 Nov 1997 - 50 offshore killer whales visited Monterey Bay!!
**One of the last times they were documented in Monterey Bay was on 13 December 2016, when Monterey Bay Whale Watch drone footage captured them carrying and feeding on a sevengill shark: the first time that this prey species was ever confirmed!
**There was a shore-based sighting in January 2021, where we identified the female O111! Thanks to Kate Cummings and Tim Huntington for submitting those photos.
A fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone!
Photo credit: Monterey Bay Whale Watch intern Ella Mckhann.
Here is a link to our 2008 publication, ""Eastern temperate North Pacific offshore killer whales (Orcinus orca):
Occurrence, movements, and insights into feeding ecology""
https://www.orcanetwork.org/nathist/offshoresdalheim.pdf On Friday November 12th we had an incredible, once in a lifetime sighting! We were with 80-100 offshore orcas for close to two hours on our 10am trip. Offshores orcas tend to be a bit smaller than the normal Biggs transient orcas we usually see. They also are in much larger groupings like this, have rounder and straighter dorsal fins, and eat sharks and fish! We have recognized a few individuals from this trip but are still analyzing hundreds of photos.
Video taken by Jason Berring Jr