We had a very rare treat Saturday while we were out fishing. We came across a small family pod of killer whales! There was a large male, a female and a small calf. The male was impressively large. His dorsal fin stood a solid 6-7 ft. out of the water. We were able to slowly cruise up very close to them to see their beautiful black and white coloration as they swam next to the boat. The picture below is the dorsal fin of the male.
I have seen orcas before further south in San Carlos, but this was a first seeing them so far north in the Sea of Cortez. We felt very lucky.
If you are into whale watching or marine life, right now is a super time to go out and observe. We encountered a huge pod of dolphins, easily 500 of them, and they gleefully came in and jumped around the boat and played in our wake. Likewise, there are many other pods of whales around, mostly finbacks. We counted over 20 in two separate pods. General location for most of this activity was about 40 miles out to the south.
Fishing itself was hit or miss - we missed on the closer reefs and didn't get any grouper, but hit on the deep reefs for black-tip sharks, large gold-spotted bass, and few assorted other species. Mi amigo Dennis was casting light spinning gear with a Kastmaster and catching peanut dorado, a skipjack, and even a large needlefish while we were drifting the deep reefs. The weather and water were perfect! Water temps are still 80 degrees, even out on the deep reefs.
That is truly a treat that makes it all worthwhile. I always break off from fishing to cruise with whales or dolphins if I can. I've only seen orcas once in the Sea of Cortez, and I had to use my telescope to identify them. I used to see them a lot in the Pacific Northwest. I've kind of missed them. They are truly a creature to be in awe of.
Ha! If that were only true, Kenny. Ask Ric how many fish he lost to sea lions this past Sunday.
I watched a very interesting program on orcas a few months ago. This might sound odd, but it's absolutely true. What orcas eat is determined by birth.
Some pods attack and eat other mammals - sea lions, dolphins, and even other whales. One of the most dramatic and heartbreaking videos I've ever seen was a pod of killer whales that set upon a mother gray whale and her calf. The mother kept the calf close, but the killer whales worked for two hours to finally separate her from the calf. Once separated, the orcas killed the calf and ate its tongue, letting the rest of the whale float to the bottom.
However, other pods of orcas eat only fish (salmon and such) and never eat mammals. Research has shown that if an orca is born into a fish-eating pod, they too, will be a fish eater. Likewise for the mammal eaters. They learn what to eat from their parents and they stay that way for the rest of their lives. All of the orcas kept in captivity (Shamu and company) come from fish-eating pods.
I hope any I come across are from fish-eating pods! :fish:
I've seen those programs too, and like bahiatrader, when I was up in the Pacific Northwest I was lucky enough to have seen them up close.
One thing though, if they got even remotely close to the Sea lions, they wouldn't stick around to find out what pod they were from.:eek3: I'm sure you've seen the film of Orcas playing catch with seal's, or just tossing them up in the air for the fun of it like they were toy's.
I saw a few,3 or 4, dead Sea Lions on the way to the estuary from Santo Tomas earlier this month. They were to decomposed to tell if they'd been shot or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had been.
So cool Stuart! I remember seeing that particular show-it lierally brought tears to my eyes, but yet I was extremely fascinated. I love anything that has to do with the ocean though!
I would LOVE to see whales, I'm jealous. One time I was floating just off the beach when about 30 dolphins started jumping out of the water chasing fish all around me, it was awsome but of course I didn't have a camera.
A couple more pics of the orcas - the male's huge dorsal and a closeup of the female next to the boat. Also, a great sunset as we raced back in Sat. :p
omg, they're beautiful. I like the video going around of the killer whales going after a penguin and it ends up jumping into a small boat with people in it and just standing there looking at them. The killer whales left at that point.
