People in San Diego are paying top dollar to see these beautiful aimals. (photos courtesy of my friend Kene E.)
Mike
[Edited on 8-1-2007 by Peloncito]Wiles - 8-1-2007 at 02:31 PM
WOW! - WOW! - WOW!- and -WOW!shari - 8-1-2007 at 02:37 PM
Gee, where are those orcas? I wonder what family they are? I was involved in photo ID of orcas on Vancouver Island and we knew every whale by name or
# and who their families were. Because there is no side view of the dorsal fin, I can't tell if they are residents or transients...probably transients
though by the looks of em...plus there isn't much salmon to eat in baja! I wonder what pod this is?
They are incredible animals!
BMG - 8-1-2007 at 02:38 PM
And fast too!! Just saw them up in the Broughton Islands off Vancouver Island in BC a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks for sharing your great photos.
BajaGeoff - 8-1-2007 at 03:29 PM
Wow! Great photos Peloncito!shari - 8-1-2007 at 03:32 PM
Ah yes, these are residents, you can tell by the shape of the dorsal fin...transients have a straighter tailing edge to the fin. Looks like they are
chowin down on salmon all right. Too far to tell which family it is though.Wiles - 8-1-2007 at 04:10 PM
Residents or Transients..........
Shari, isn't the key the tip of the dorsal, not the trailing edge? Also, I thought it was primarily noted on females and not so much in males as
pictured in original post.
The post with pics of lots of females definitely illustrates the characteristic of a rounded tipped dorsal representing resident critters. Bet you
miss them too.......
How often do you see Orcas cruising the kelp out front of your place?capn.sharky - 8-1-2007 at 04:45 PM
I think these are the Orcas that the Mexicans tell me are more aggressive than the others. These have the larger sails on them and have been known to
attack boats. But....I may be wrong. I believe they call them Buffeos Maliscos (or something to that effect). Can anyone tell me if that is
correct.Peloncito - 8-2-2007 at 01:32 PM
My friend shot these photos just off of Punta Pescadero (Los Barriles) while out in his 14' panga. I am not an expert on whales/dolphns either but
isn't there a big difference between male and female dorsal fins. I always thought the straighter, higher up dorsals were male orcas.
Anyway, he was not too nervous around them and apparently neither were they. He said they just took a look, dove underneath and moved on. Probably
searching for the rest of the pod and a blue whale or something to snack on. Oh and by the way, this one was not too far off (note the smaller dorsal)
Mike
[Edited on 8-2-2007 by Peloncito]mtgoat666 - 8-2-2007 at 01:48 PM
peloncito,
your photo is a porpoise, not an orca. don't remember species name, but whatever it's called, it's often confused with orca due to coloring.Peloncito - 8-2-2007 at 02:05 PM
MT,
All orcas are in the porpoise family aren't they? It was swimming just away from the pther pics I posted above and it also had the white markings
around the eyes. This was very different from the Pilot Whales (False Killer Whales) I normally see. If this is a porpoise, it comes from a family
that has identical markings as those found with Orcas and it was swimming dangerously close to the other big boyz!bajajudy - 8-2-2007 at 02:42 PM
While fighting a fish with the motor off (for about 40 minutes) I watched two Orcas circle my boat. They were close enough I could see the whole
animal, colors, size, patterns. Right with them were two false killer whales just a short distance away. There were striking differences between the
animals and when I got back to the house I looked up in my fish books and on google what I had seen. The dorsal fin is highly arched on the false
killer whale -- he grows to 18 ft, is not preyed upon by Orcas like his cousins the other smaller dolphins. I'm sure some of the photos are false
killer whales. I think about half the sightings by people around this part of the SOC are false killer whales, not humpbacks.
Natural born killers
Dave - 8-2-2007 at 03:19 PM
Saw a program about an Orca pod killing of a gray whale calf. Happened off the Baja coast. Not pretty but the ways of the world, I guess.BajaWarrior - 8-2-2007 at 03:43 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Saw a program about an Orca pod killing of a gray whale calf. Happened off the Baja coast. Not pretty but the ways of the world, I guess.
Saw the same program, they attack the whale and only eat the lower jaw and tongue.Debra - 8-2-2007 at 05:12 PM
mtgoat666, I think you are thinking of a Dahl. they have the same coloring as orcas but much smaller...
First. Orcas are not whales at all, they are a member of the dophin family, and they are hunters, just as dolphins are, and just like dolphins, they
are playful and curious with humans, but, (little know fact) orcas do not kill, rape and kidnap others as dolphins do.........they do 'play' with
their food (not nice) but, it's how the young hone their hunting skills.
Here where I live, Orcas are abundant, they often 'adopt' a Wash. State Ferry.......a family's home on the water, or anyone that will talk to them,
thing is, when that happens, we have to be 'mean' to get them back to their families where they belong, as much as we would love to have them as the
'pets' they are willing to be. Mama is best!Wiles - 8-2-2007 at 07:44 PM
Marine Mammal Basics
OK, here are the basics when it comes to whales, dolphins and porpoise.
They all belong to the Mammalian Order Cetaceans.
There are two Sub-Order of Cetaceans:
1) Sub-Order Mysticeti, commonly referred to as baleen whales in that they have baleen plates in their mouths instead of teeth, two blowholes,
and throat groves.
There are 4 Families (or sub groups) of Mysticetis, of which 2 families frequent the waters off the Baja peninsula.
They are:
Family Balaenoptera , the blue (largest), the finback, sei’, bryde’s , minkie and humpback whales.
Family Eschrichtiidae, the gray whale
2) Sub-Order Odontoceti, commonly referred to as toothed whales, dolphins and porpoise in that they have teeth (duh) and one blowhole.
There are 6 Families of Odontocetis of which at least 3 families frequent the waters off the Baja peninsula.
They are:
Family Physeteridae, the sperm whale which is the largest of all toothed whales.
Family Delphinidae, Dolphins. This family includes Orca/Killer Whales (yes they are dolphins), false killer whales, pygmy killers, pilot whale,
risso’s dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, pacific white sided dolphin among others.
Family Phocoenidae, Porpoise. Of the 6 species of porpoise only 2 can be seen off Baja. The vaquito porpoise (Phoecoena sinus) also know as the
gulf porpoise which is endemic to the upper Cortez and almost extinct and the Dall’s porpoise which can be found primarily in the cooler waters (60
degrees F or cooler) on the Pacific side.
By the way, the Dall’s are small 6-7ft and very fast (30 knots) with triangular dorsal and no beak. They leave an impressive rooster tail in their
wake.
Ok, class is over. Now go put something on the boat and enjoy a little whaling while your at it.Wiles - 8-2-2007 at 07:47 PM
Peloncito
Your picture is of a false killer whale.Wiles - 8-2-2007 at 07:49 PM
Peloncito
Pilot whales and false killer whales are related but different animals.Wiles - 8-2-2007 at 07:51 PM
Orcas are not porpoise they are the largest dolphin in the dolphin family DelphinidaeWiles - 8-2-2007 at 08:04 PM
Osprey
You are correct with your ID....good eyes. Orcas consider ALL marine mammals as food, right on up to and including the largest of em all the blue
whale.
BajaWarrior
Yes...they are usually only interested in the tongue and lower mandible.
Debra
Yes, techincally Orcas are dolphins. However, Whales, Dolphins & Porpoise ALL belong to the same scientific group called Cetaceans.Wiles - 8-2-2007 at 08:07 PM
Peloncito
Those are first class photos.roundtuit - 8-2-2007 at 09:41 PM
Ken , what's your answer. Remember Mulege Marv's from last year
