BajaNomad

Orcas seen offshore in SD- any seen in Baja?

Whale-ista - 1-9-2017 at 11:31 PM

News report here: http://www.cbs8.com/clip/13017459/pod-of-orcas-thrills-whale...

These are "transient" orcas that follow migrating marine mammals- like gray whales.

Has anyone seen them offshore in Baja?

Juls - 1-9-2017 at 11:52 PM

I saw some off shore last February near Cerritos Beach.

BigWooo - 1-10-2017 at 05:52 AM

Several weeks ago there was a pod very close to shore for about an hour, swimming where surfers would be sitting if there had been waves off third and forth points in San Juanico. It was hard to tell how many, but it appeared there were two adults, two babies and a mid size whale.

woody with a view - 1-10-2017 at 06:27 AM

Saw pics of one swimming in the bay at Abreojos a couple of years ago.

rts551 - 1-10-2017 at 07:17 AM

Quote: Originally posted by woody with a view  
Saw pics of one swimming in the bay at Abreojos a couple of years ago.


Yes Woody, I have seen them here twice cruising the coastline.

shari - 1-10-2017 at 08:30 AM

these Killer Whales are the ETP's (Eastern Tropical Pacific) whales which is fairly rare to see them up in California. I suspect those are what we see here in Baja but we really need more photo ID's of them to prove it.They are identifiable as their usually white saddle patch is very dark, grey and small. Usually Orcas attack calves on the northbound migration when they have more meat on them. We dont know much about these elusive Orcas and their movements and what they eat.

So please submit any photos you have of Orcas to me so I can forward them onto the researchers. It really helps to have the date, location and any notes on how many whales, gender, behavior (feeding, traveling, playing, milling etc)

Here is what whale researcher Alisa Schulman says about them...
ETP Orca ID Catalog: Many people have been asking me for more information on Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) killer whales that so rarely visit our waters off California (as they did yesterday). Here is a link to NMFS's 2008 ETP photo-ID catalog, coauthored by Paula Olson and Tim Gerrodette. Many of these whales have been encountered just once in over 20 years. ETP refers to all of the killer whales found in the huge area from San Diego south to Central American (not out to Hawaii). We have three recognized killer whale ecotypes between Alaska and California: resident killer whales, Bigg's (transient) killer whales, and offshore killer whales. Different ecotypes of whales are most likely found over the ETP; but since they are so rarely encountered, very little is known about them. Here is the link but I think you have to download the PDF version to see the photos.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3AT2R0...

[Edited on 1-10-2017 by shari]

Leo - 1-10-2017 at 08:29 PM

In over 14 years, I have seen them only once in the Sea of Cortez, south of Mulege.
They are a rare sight, unlike in British Columbia where several large pots are stationary. My son spotted a small pot over the weekend, inside passage, mid-Vancouver Island.

hombre66 - 1-11-2017 at 01:47 PM

Not that recent (April 2016) but for the record: Saw a pod of about 6 or 7 about a mile out at San Fransisquito. Really glad I had my 10/50 binoculars. The kicker for me is, I lived on the Olympic penninsula(Hood Canal) for years and never saw a single one. Baja magic for sure.

Hook - 1-12-2017 at 06:33 AM

We have sighting of these in the waters off San Carlos every year. I have seen them three times in my nine years here.

The last time was only a few weeks ago. The dorsal fin was cutting the water in front of us, only about 15 meters in front of us. Probably doing 15-20 knots. This is an amazing site, if you've never seen it. No body showing and the fin does not move from side to side or up and down, the way a "normal" fishes would. Just perfect, continuous forward motion. It almost looked like a periscope going by.

It then submerged and swam right under our boat while swimming on it's side. Then surfaced about 50 meters behind us and did a pirouette in the air.

We were in a 19 foot panga at the time. We got the hell outta Dodge, pronto. It was a very large one. Looked to be 30 feet or more. A loner, too; no others around.

There are some very famous photos of lots of orcas off our area. Google orcas in San Carlos and it will come up immediately.

Here is probably the most famous one where an orca was actually resting its"chin" on the swimstep of a cruiser, while underway.




orca Catch 22.jpg - 90kB


[Edited on 1-13-2017 by Hook]

LukeJobbins - 1-12-2017 at 07:21 PM

I thought I saw one orca today around San Martin island but I saw it out of the corner of my eye and didn't see it pop up again so it might have been my imagination. There were however over 30 greys cruising around.

Lee - 1-12-2017 at 09:40 PM

''Killer whales can induce tonic immobility in sharks and rays by holding them upside down, rendering them helpless and incapable of injuring the whale. Some sharks suffocate within about 15 minutes while the whale holds them still, because these sharks need to move to breathe.

In one incident filmed near the Farallon Islands in October 1997, a 4.7–5.3-metre (15–17 ft) female killed a 3–4-metre (9.8–13.1 ft) great white shark,[30] apparently after swimming with it upside-down in her mouth and inducing tonic immobility in it.

She and another pod member ate the shark's liver and allowed the rest of the carcass to sink.[126] In February 2015, a pod of orcas was recorded to have killed a white shark off South Australia.[127] Interspecific competition between the two species is probable in regions where dietary preferences overlap.[128]

In July 1992, two killer whales attacked, killed and fed on an 8-metre (26 ft) long whale shark, Rhincodon typus, in the waters off Bahia de los Angeles in Baja California.[129]'' Wikipedia

About 5 years ago at Punta Lobos, first light about 6:30am, while fishing from shore, mid-bay, about 50 m in front of me, a large dorsal fin surfaced like a periscope for about 10 seconds. Fin went up and went down. Fin was straight and triangular shaped (male). (Females have curved fins. Fin can be up to 6' high.)

windgrrl - 1-13-2017 at 05:42 AM

Yes. They have come very close to shore, two years in a row, about 4 years ago. This was a video taken by someone who was near them the second year.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YTEUnGJfMvM


[Edited on 1-13-2017 by windgrrl]

AKgringo - 1-13-2017 at 09:03 AM

Windgirl, do you know if that video was taken at Los Barriles? I got there the day after that, or a similar event occurred there about the same time frame.

In the words of several kite boarders that I talked to 'They turned the water red" feeding on rays right along the shoreline!

Also, for anyone who has ever been around Manta rays, you have to wonder how they confused those little guys with a Manta?

windgrrl - 1-13-2017 at 10:00 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
Windgirl, do you know if that video was taken at Los Barriles? I got there the day after that, or a similar event occurred there about the same time frame.

In the words of several kite boarders that I talked to 'They turned the water red" feeding on rays right along the shoreline!

Also, for anyone who has ever been around Manta rays, you have to wonder how they confused those little guys with a Manta?


Yes-it is in front of the Mar y Sol Condos and Hotel Palmas de Cortez. Funny coincidence...the came the day after we left! We saw a whale shark in the bay last year in early March. It's exciting to see the big creatures, but there seems to be less fish in the sea each year.

Just headed back down again and looking forward to more fishy observations!

Cheerio,
W

Cheerio,
W

Los Barriles

AKgringo - 1-13-2017 at 10:50 AM

I love that stretch of beach! On one visit, I was fortunate enough to watch two humpbacks doing repeated breaches right offshore from the Geezer Shack north of town. It looked like something right out of a Prudential Life commercial!

That was in April, and when I commented that I thought they would be in Northern waters at that time of year, one of the locals told me that some of them don't migrate. I suppose that if there is enough food, they wouldn't have to.