Our trip started like any other whale watching trip out of Monterey harbor – a few sea otters and plenty of California sea lions and Brandt’s cormorants out on the breakwall. We ventured south to see what was around and plenty of Humpback Whales were definitely around. You could spot a spout from a Humpback Whale every where you looked. We saw one individual do a bit of pectoral slapping, and we also had a few distant lunge feedings.
Then the captain announces that we’d be turning back towards Monterey for some Killer Whales! My ear immediately perked when those 2 words were said – I hadn’t seen Killer Whales in nearly 2 years (and not for lack of trying either). Though I kept my expectations in check because we were still a good 45-60 min away from where they were spotted, and I knew these animals could definitely move if they wanted to.
Luckily for me and everyone else aboard, the killer whales were there when we arrived. At first, they were doing longer dives and really moving around. One moment we’d be following one direction, and then they’d pop up the opposite area the next. However, the rest of the encounter with members of CA140B (Louise) and CA 216B (Jagged) mixed pod was absolutely amazing.
We saw so many behaviors from this group: breaching, tail slapping, porpoising from the calves; we even saw them predate on some common murres to let the younger individuals practice hunting!
It was truly one of it not the best encounters I have ever had with killer whales!
-Patrick
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