A rare encounter between a pod of orcas and two humpback whales, which were engaged in a dramatic hours-long clash, was witnessed by whale watchers, and also captured on camera.
On Sept. 29 at around 11 a.m., a group of around 15 Bigg’s orcas was spotted being unusually active on the surface, near the Canada-U.S. border in the Strait of Juan De Fuca, roughly 25 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington, by captains of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA).
Soon, members of the PWWA discovered the orcas had run into two humpback whales, and a dramatic confrontation between them ensued.
Mollie Naccarato, captain and naturalist for Sooke Coastal Explorations, said in a statement: “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it because it was absolutely unbelievable. At first, the orcas seemed to be chasing the humpbacks, but then there was space between them, the humpbacks would go back toward the orcas.”
Observers’ reports from throughout the day paint a colorful picture. The orca-whale encounter lasted for three hours and included spectacles of breaching, tail-slapping, and loud vocalization.
The marine rivals are no strangers to PWWA naturalists, who later identified members of the 15-strong orca pod as belonging to groups T109A and T252. The humpback whales were identified as BCY1000 “Hydra,” an adult female mom of three linked to breeding grounds in Maui, Hawaii, and BCX1948 “Reaper,” a 4-year-old adult female who has been spotted in winter breeding grounds off of Jalisco, Mexico.
Whale watchers hope to spot the feisty humpback whales again before they migrate south for the winter.
While Bigg’s orcas usually feed on seals, sea lions, and porpoises, and occasionally on humpback whales; the PWWA suspects that with the increase in orca and humpback populations in the region, interactions between them might become a more common sight.
