Whale watchers see orca, humpback skirmish off Vancouver Island

Published 1:30 pm Thursday, August 11, 2016

Some whale watching boats were treated to a rare spectacle in the Salish Sea when transient killer whales were observed attacking humpback whales Sunday.

The Pacific Whale Watch Association reported that crews from the Prince of Whales Whale Watching and Eagle Win Tours witnessed the battle in the waters off Jordan River, British Columbia. There was a lot of splashing but otherwise unconfirmed injuries to either group of marine mammals.

“It was a great interaction,” said Mark Malleson, captain of Prince of Whales Whale Watching and a researcher for Fisheries and Oceans Cancada and the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, in a press release. “I’m not sure if the killer whales ever thought they were going to be able to take one of these humpbacks out, but it appears they certainly enjoyed getting them worked up.”

Malleson has compiled a catalog of humpback whales in the Salish Sea. In his years observing and researching the whales, he has witnessed encounters between adult humpbacks and Bigg’s killer whales.

“I’ve seen a lot of this over the years, but I don’t think the killer whales have much success predating on them,” he said in the release. “Perhaps the occasional calf, but even that would be rare. It seems they just like bugging them.”

Valerie Shore of Victoria-based Eagle Wing Tours said much of the whale activity appeared to be underwater and said she believed the two adult humpback whales were protecting the calf.

With the orcas in retreat, Shore and her crew saw what they believed to be a torn tail on the calf, but could not confirm it because they were too far away.

The Pacific Whale Watch Association reported crews seeing “unprecedented” numbers of humpback whales, as many as 20 together. That’s led to the term, “Humpback Heaven,” said Michael Harris, the association’s executive director.

Earlier this year, Bigg’s killer whales were seen off Everett in a skirmish with two adult gray whales. Harris reflected on a time when the Southern Resident orcas were the only game in town for viewing. The fish-eating killer whales were content with salmon. With the return of large whales to the Salish Sea, that may correspond with the return of the transient orcas.

“Now we’re witnessing these predation events with these apex hunters going after 40- and 50-ton whales, sometimes right in front of our boats,” he said. “Ringside seats, if you will, to the trials of life. It’s amazing.”