In rare SoCal appearance, orcas show why they’re called ‘killer whales’
1 year ago

In rare SoCal appearance, orcas show why they’re called ‘killer whales’

LA Times  

A whale-watching group gets a good look at an orca on Monday. For a lucky group of whale watchers Monday, a pod of at least 10 of the distinctive black-and-white whales — including two calves — made an appearance off Palos Verdes Peninsula. Tyler Askari, assistant port captain with Harbor Breeze Cruises, said the tour agency had received reports of possible orcas Monday morning from ferry crews operating between the mainland and Catalina Island. “It’s a sight to see,” Askari said, “because you kind of see Mother Nature at work.” A woman snaps a selfie with orcas below on a whale-watching trip Monday off Palos Verdes Peninsula. Their appearance Monday “was when they were going up the coast,” Askari said, adding that subsequent reports indicated the orcas were headed back south.

Southern California Palos Verdes Peninsula Whales Orcas Gray Whales Askari  whalewatching  whales  palos  askari  called  socal  killer  rare  seen  verdes  california  southern  theyre  appearance  orcas  spotted

History of this topic

Unexpected visits are turning Orange County into a humpback whale hangout
2 weeks ago

Unexpected visits are turning Orange County into a humpback whale hangout

LA Times  

Shortly after noon Sunday, the waters eight miles off the coast of Newport Beach were broken by an unusual, if not majestic, sight. A several-ton humpback whale broke through the surface and leaped into the sky, like a Pacific Life insurance commercial, scattering adjacent seabirds while opening its massive mouth to consume anchovies near the surface. VIDEO | 01:53 Humpback …

Orca Spotted Doing Something Really Weird In Puzzling Throwback To The 1980s
3 weeks, 1 day ago

Orca Spotted Doing Something Really Weird In Puzzling Throwback To The 1980s

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Dead salmon hats for fall? In the summer of 1987, orcas from the Pacific Northwest’s “southern resident” population started doing something that fascinated and perplexed human observers: wearing dead salmon on their heads. “We saw one with a fish on its head,” Deborah Giles, the research director for the nonprofit Wild Orca, told New Scientist. “So that …

1980s fashion returns… for killer whales! Orcas are spotted wearing salmon as 'hats' nearly 40 years after they were spotted enjoying the bizarre trend
3 weeks, 3 days ago

1980s fashion returns… for killer whales! Orcas are spotted wearing salmon as 'hats' nearly 40 years after they were spotted enjoying the bizarre trend

Daily Mail  

Killer whales have been spotted wearing dead fish on their heads - a look they were seen sporting nearly 40 years ago by researchers. Killer whales have been spotted wearing dead fish on their heads Researcher say their behaviour could be linked to a larger population of salmon in the waters this year, and because they have an abundance of …

Unprecedented numbers of gray whales are visiting San Francisco Bay, and nobody quite knows why
5 months, 1 week ago

Unprecedented numbers of gray whales are visiting San Francisco Bay, and nobody quite knows why

LA Times  

When Bill Keener started working at the Marine Mammal Center as a field biologist in the 1970s, there were no whales or dolphins in San Francisco Bay. The humpback whales may also be a good news story — although, unlike porpoises, they probably were never permanent residents of San Francisco Bay. As with the humpbacks, there is no historical record …

A guide to dreamy stargazing adventures in L.A. and beyond
7 months, 1 week ago

A guide to dreamy stargazing adventures in L.A. and beyond

LA Times  

I’ll never forget my first stargazing experience in Southern California. It was during a spring camping trip to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, not long after nearby Borrego Springs was designated the state’s first dark sky community in 2009. Whether it’s a public star party at Griffith Observatory or a private astronomer-led tour in Joshua Tree, there is a proverbial universe …

Pod of orcas are spotted hunting dolphins close to swimmers and surfers off the California coast
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Pod of orcas are spotted hunting dolphins close to swimmers and surfers off the California coast

Daily Mail  

Surfers and swimmers in California witnessed a rare event up close as a pod of orcas were seen hunting and ripping a dolphin apart near the coast. Footage from the moment shows a group of surfboarders off the coast of La Jolla in San Diego watching orcas jumping through the water As they quietly float on their boards in the …

Orcas are flocking to Southern California waters. One bloody, awe-inspiring spectacle shows why
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Orcas are flocking to Southern California waters. One bloody, awe-inspiring spectacle shows why

LA Times  

Whales native to Mexico and Central America have been spotted dozens of times from Long Beach to the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Laguna Beach over the last three weeks. Orcas native to Mexico and Central America are believed to have been seen dozens of times from Long Beach to Palos Verdes Peninsula to Laguna Beach over the last three weeks. …

‘Unexpected but welcomed’ killer whales sighted off the coast of Newport Beach
1 year ago

‘Unexpected but welcomed’ killer whales sighted off the coast of Newport Beach

LA Times  

An orca was sighted in Newport Beach’s waters on Sunday after a period of several sightings up and down Southern California’s coast. They just radioed, ‘We saw killer whales,’ and we found them again off Rancho Palos Verdes, but then they weren’t seen for a couple of days,” Lawler said. It’s a rare opportunity to see them in the wild …

Pod of orcas spotted hunting dolphins off the Los Angeles coast with their calves - the first sighting for tourist cruise boat in TWO years
1 year ago

Pod of orcas spotted hunting dolphins off the Los Angeles coast with their calves - the first sighting for tourist cruise boat in TWO years

Daily Mail  

Whale watchers in California received a pleasant surprise as a pod of orcas appeared for the first time in two years. The Eastern Tropical Pacific pod with nearly 12 killer whales, including two calves, had been seen in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Harbor Breeze Cruises spotted the black and white killer whales on their first trip around midday on Monday …

First dead gray whale of 2023 washes up on California beach; scientists concerned about trend
1 year, 8 months ago

First dead gray whale of 2023 washes up on California beach; scientists concerned about trend

LA Times  

A dead gray whale was found on Bolinas Beach in Marin County on March 25. The whale’s death is the latest in a concerning trend in recent years, which prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2019 to declare an “unusual mortality event” for the species living and migrating along North America’s Pacific Coast, after an alarming number of …

Marine researchers notice strange whale behaviour off Victoria's coastline
2 years ago

Marine researchers notice strange whale behaviour off Victoria's coastline

ABC  

As a pod of "pretty dolphins" pop up next to the research boat David Donnelly is skippering, even the seasoned researchers seem caught by a wave of delight. Mr Donnelly, a marine researcher with the Dolphin Research Institute, has been tracking the movements of dolphins and whales in the waters off Victoria's coast since the 1980s. "It's quite clear that …

Gray whale deaths: How humans and climate change hurt oceans
3 years, 4 months ago

Gray whale deaths: How humans and climate change hurt oceans

LA Times  

SAN IGNACIO, Mexico — For thousands of years, the gray whales of the eastern Pacific have undertaken one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal — starting in the cold waters of the Arctic, then down past the densely populated coasts and beaches of California before finally finding refuge in the warm, shallow estuaries of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. …

A dozen dead whales have washed ashore in the Bay Area
3 years, 6 months ago

A dozen dead whales have washed ashore in the Bay Area

LA Times  

The number of dead whales washing ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area this spring continues to climb, with another massive gray whale seen rolling in the surf at Pacifica State Beach on Friday afternoon. The latest — a 47-foot-long adult male — is the 10th gray whose carcass has ended up on Bay Area shores. In 2019, NOAA began …

A whale carcass was towed to sea in San Diego. Now it’s back, rotting on an O.C. beach
3 years, 7 months ago

A whale carcass was towed to sea in San Diego. Now it’s back, rotting on an O.C. beach

LA Times  

Scientists from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach take samples and study an endangered fin whale that washed up at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach. “It seems to be a mystical ambiance of just, ‘Wow, it’s so huge.’” The dead whale was first discovered May 8 after the Australian Royal Navy’s HMAS Sydney berthed at Naval …

Orca enthusiast captures incredible photo of a rare newborn calf off the coast of Scotland
3 years, 7 months ago

Orca enthusiast captures incredible photo of a rare newborn calf off the coast of Scotland

Daily Mail  

A lucky orca enthusiast has captured some incredible photos of a newborn calf swimming with its mother off the coast of Scotland. Wildlife enthusiast Karen Munro, 44, travels around Scotland from her home in Thurso, Highlands, hoping to catch sight of the astonishing creatures. Scroll down for video A lucky orca enthusiast has captured some incredible photos of a newborn …

Two orcas are spotted off the coast of CORNWALL
3 years, 7 months ago

Two orcas are spotted off the coast of CORNWALL

Daily Mail  

A pair of killer whales named John Coe and Aquarius have been spotted off the coast of Cornwall for the first time in over a decade by a group of wildlife experts. The pod they belong to, known as the West Coast Community, is made up of four males, including John Coe and Aquarius, as well as four females. This …

Three more whales wash up dead near San Francisco — eight total in five weeks
3 years, 7 months ago

Three more whales wash up dead near San Francisco — eight total in five weeks

LA Times  

Three more gray whales have washed up dead in the San Francisco Bay, adding to the fatal beachings of five others in the region over the last month, including a 46-foot fin whale, scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences said Thursday. In 2019, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it was going …

Discover Related