BajaNomad - Orcas in San Carlos

Orcas in San Carlos

JZ - 1-14-2007 at 06:27 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOLV2utEqdQ

[Edited on 1-15-2007 by JZ]

bajajudy - 1-14-2007 at 07:43 PM

WOW JZ
I was expecting green slimey vegatables.
Are those orcas?

Ocras ?

MrBillM - 1-14-2007 at 08:52 PM

I thought you were talking about that Rich Black Gal who built the 40 million dollar school in Africa.

Sallysouth - 1-14-2007 at 09:26 PM

Hmmmm, anyone remember my story about our Orca experience in the channel between Danzante and Carmen (Loreto area) ? Can't remember if I posted it on the Amigos site? That was a close encounter of the Orca kind, never to be forgotten! We ran ahead of the pod and shut down the boat. They came right to us.........huge Orca head on the swim step, a foot

from me.......staring at me with his huge eye....EEEKKKKk, stroking the dorsal fin as he ran it along side of the boat, Now THATs an Orca story. I think I may be able to pull it up from Mijas El Fuerte website and post it here.Awesome creatures, once in a lifetime experience...

Tomas Tierra - 1-14-2007 at 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Summanus
I have also seen 'orcas' in the Cortez near Pt. Conception....... in 1987 there were quite a few. At the same time the langostinas (red crabs) were there by the miillions and ringed every beach red with their bodies.

Anybody ever eat those little red crabs????

Batter fried some live one time, kinda like eating the fried heads from a sweet shrimp...not bad, not that good , but not bad....

Cool Okra's!

JZ - 1-14-2007 at 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
I thought you were talking about that Rich Black Gal who built the 40 million dollar school in Africa.

Hey jackweed, I thought I asked your sorry butt not to post on any of my threads. Go find a grieving widow to harass. I understand you're pretty good at that.

Sallysouth - 1-14-2007 at 09:39 PM

JZ, when was that video taken? That was pretty cool and they got up real close! Didja see the infant in the video?(orca)

JZ - 1-14-2007 at 09:59 PM

It was taken a little over a week ago. They are still in San Carlos. They were also spotted there in November.

[Edited on 1-15-2007 by JZ]

Cypress - 1-15-2007 at 05:57 AM

Tomas Tierra. Would advise against making a meal out of fried crab, shrimp etc. without first removing the shell. Tastes real good, a little crunchy, but you will never forget your next trip to the john.

mistaken

mulege marv - 1-15-2007 at 07:29 AM

looking at the video closely i believe those are dahls porpoise, often mistaken for orcas.
:lol:

bill erhardt - 1-15-2007 at 07:59 AM

JZ....... Is that San Carlos, Sonora, or on Mag Bay?

(Glad to see somebody else remembers Bully Bill's finest hour.)

No Jackweeds here.

MrBillM - 1-15-2007 at 09:03 AM

Or even Tobacco anymore.

You must be thinking of one of your Hippie friends from the Commune.

I will form a study group sub-committee and give your "request" the serious consideration that it deserves. I'll keep you posted on the deliberations.

A toasty 15 degrees here this a.m. It doesn't bother me, though, because I have such a Warm Heart.

Cypress - 1-15-2007 at 09:08 AM

Is okra grown in Baja? :spingrin:

Ken Bondy - 1-15-2007 at 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mulege marv
looking at the video closely i believe those are dahls porpoise, often mistaken for orcas.
:lol:

I'm not touching that one with a ten foot pole. Never again. Last time I suggested something like that I took a ration of uh, heat, from marv. They are anything you want them to be, marv. ++Ken++

Bajalover - 1-15-2007 at 09:37 AM

Wow - must have been a great experience seeing those ocras.... Guess next time I receive ocra on a plate I'll have second thoughts.... ha ha ha.
Hope they leave some Grays for us to watch in Feb.

Orca with Okra ?

MrBillM - 1-15-2007 at 10:03 AM

Might make for a good plate. Do they taste good ?

bajajudy - 1-15-2007 at 10:08 AM

Cypress
Okra grows very well here. You just have to add water. We ate okra all summer.
If you have a gardener, weeder, helper be sure to identify it for them because the juvenile plants look too much like castor and the locals will pluck them right out.
Back to the whales!

Cypress - 1-15-2007 at 10:13 AM

Thanks for the info. bajajudy. :bounce:

JZ - 1-15-2007 at 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bill erhardt
JZ....... Is that San Carlos, Sonora, or on Mag Bay?

San Carlos, Sonora.

capt. mike - 1-15-2007 at 10:19 AM

according to the folks at kuyima, the soc has at one time had every type of whale plowing its waters.

mtgoat666 - 1-15-2007 at 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JZ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOLV2utEqdQ

[Edited on 1-15-2007 by JZ]

Those are not Orcas. Probably porpoises.

Sallysouth - 1-15-2007 at 11:14 AM

After taking another look at the video, I have my doubts also.The markings are certainly different that those we saw/touched in the SOC, along with the way they swim and the size. Who's an expert here???(definatly NOT me!!) :lol:

Minnow - 1-15-2007 at 11:26 AM

If you watch the video until the end you will see that they most definately are Bufeo's.

Question...

djh - 1-15-2007 at 12:11 PM

Is it common for folks to motor at such high speeds up to, along side, and even on top of these guys??? I don't know what standard practice is in Baja, or if there are regs. on this in Mex. / Baja. In the US and Canada, there are severe penalties for that.

I have been sailing in Puget Sound and Vancouver Island areas and had Orcas come right up to our sailboat, and it was a thrill... I have also had them come un-nervingly close to, and under my kayak, which is a real aerobic (heart thumping) exercise.

Not trying to be critical, mind you, (it is obvious these folks are having a great time, and love the Orcas).... I'm just wondering about this video... and if it is commonplace (and good for the Orcas).

Thanks
djh

Whale or porpoise?

Stickers - 1-15-2007 at 12:39 PM

"Colored just like a Orca whale, many people will swear they are viewing a pod of baby Orcas but they are actually viewing a close cousin or we should say the Orca whale is actually a Orca porpoise, which it is."

Quote from an expert

Minnow - 1-15-2007 at 01:25 PM

I'm not looking at the coloring, it is the large dorsel fin that says Bufeo.

Orcas at LA Bay

Doug/Vamonos - 1-15-2007 at 02:04 PM

We found them between Guadalupe Reef and Gardian Angel in September 2005. The pod came right up to us. The big male stayed 100 yards away initially and then started slapping his tail on the surface. He then came straight at me. My photos are crappy because I left my digital camera and camcorder on the beach and used my old backup film camera with old film. Will never again leave the good stuff on the beach. When I returned home I found a marine biologist at USC who is an expert on Orcas. She identified them as the LA Pod, which typically hangs out off Los Angeles, feeding on the Gray migration. The LA Pod also killed and ate the great white at the Farallon Islands that you may have heard about. She said they disappeared in the late 1990s and was excited to hear the story and see the photos. As you can see, they swam around, under and right up to my boat. We fed a female a fresh dorado that we caught and she swam around with it in her lips for ten minutes, just like a dog with his favorite toy. I'll try and paste the photos.

Orca photo

Doug/Vamonos - 1-15-2007 at 03:09 PM

First try. Hope this works.

kw13web.jpg - 40kB

Another

Doug/Vamonos - 1-15-2007 at 03:10 PM

Cool. It works. More to follow.

kw11web.jpg - 27kB

More Orcas

Doug/Vamonos - 1-15-2007 at 03:11 PM

Needless to say, we were chitting bricks when the big boy first showed up. He was huge.

kw14web.jpg - 36kB

Dorado in her mouth

Doug/Vamonos - 1-15-2007 at 03:13 PM

We fed her a dorado. Immediately after taking this photo she turned directly towards me, about two feet from my face, and exhaled all over me, then sank away. I was so peeed about forgetting my camcorder.

kw16web.jpg - 28kB

Sallysouth - 1-15-2007 at 03:55 PM

Now THATS what I'm talkin about! Those ARE Orcas!! Great pics DV!!

Wiles - 1-15-2007 at 05:33 PM

For those interested...the critters in the above pics and video from San Carlos are Orcas...no question.

Scientific classification as follows:

Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata (vertebrates)
Class - Mammalia (mammals)
Order - Cetacea (greek word cetus for whale)
SubOrder - Odontoceti (toothed whale)
Family - Delphinidae (dolphins)
Genus - Orcinus
Species - Orca

..... the largest of the dolphins.

Great pics..how'd ya get the underwater shot?

I've seen Orcas 150 feet off the beach right out front of town at
B of LA. That was great.

Have seen pod of 11 Orcas just inside the light at Los Angeles Harbor.

Never fed one fish though. Didn't know Orcas accept mordida......

FARASHA - 1-16-2007 at 04:32 AM

Gosh - GREAT photos - envy you to have them seen so close!! A dream only for me - for now!! What time of year has it been?? >f<

Skeet/Loreto - 1-16-2007 at 08:36 AM

In 1968 I was fishing off of Punta Colorado south of Rancho Bueno Vista when we observed a Pod of Orcas eating small, baby, Mantas.
The Pod would swim along grabbing the Mantas , stunning them, then would go back and Eat them. The only time I observed Orcas in the many years being on the Sea of Cortez.
Did see lots of Bufeos off of Isa De Carmen and other locations around Loreto.

Great Phots All!
Skeet/Loreto

Orcas in LA Bay

Doug/Vamonos - 1-16-2007 at 09:12 AM

I rechecked my photos and see that we found them in August 2004. I had heard three stories before about them. Doc (Geckos) saw them a couple times 7 - 10 years ago. He has pics of them in his shop. He said he got real close and the male actually pushed his boat (the big old Gecko III) away. He said he learned to respect them and didn't get close again. I also heard the first-hand story about the pod chasing a school of porpoise around the north end of Isla San Marcos in to a bay and slaughtering them. The other story was about them hearding stingrays onto the beach near the East Cape in shallow water and eating them. The underwater photo was taken by sticking my shaking hand under the water (Canon underwater camera). Sorry, didn't have the huevos to actually jump in. These bad boys were very intimidating, expecially the male. They could have flipped our tinboats without any hesitation. The marine biologist asked me if I went in. She said several people have without any problems. The pod included half a dozen big females, a couple juveniles, and the big male. When the big male first came at me (see his fin in the photo) my dog was barking like crazy over the side of the boat. I had to chain him to the console. Boy, the wife would have been peeed if poor little Moby became Orca chow.

kw15web.jpg - 34kB

The boy meets the Orcas

Doug/Vamonos - 1-16-2007 at 09:15 AM

You can see the face of my boy Moby. He was yacking up a storm the whole time. The Orcas would swim by and roll their bodies so they could see him with one eye. He was all over the boat until I chained him up.

kw4web.jpg - 42kB

Video is Orcas

Doug/Vamonos - 1-16-2007 at 09:42 AM

I just watched the video. Definitely Orcas. They look exactly like the ones I saw. When we saw them, they were around for at least half an hour. We actually got bored and left them to go fishing (only a three day trip and we were itching for more dodos). If you look at the big male in the final seconds of the video - or maybe a still shot at the end, you can see the bend towards the tip of his dorsal. Compare that to the pic I posted of the male swimming towards me. Looks the same. Probably the same pod. What I didn't mention was when I first saw them they were half a mile away. It looked like a pod of pilot whales. I got out my binocs and could see their white cheeks, which clued me in. They then swam to us. We didn't go to them. Like I said, the big male stayed away and watched the action, then started lifting his tail and slapping the water - big loud slaps. Definitely trying to get our attention. That's when he started swimming towards my boat and went directly under me, barely under the boat. I thought I was a goner (sp?). Lifetime memories.