A wonderful day with Killer Whales! This afternoon the weather was a little breezy, but we were able to get out in to the bay and see some great wildlife. We sighted 10 Bigg’s Killer Whales – always a crowd favorite! We also sighted a few Humpback Whales during our trip. Our drone pilot did get a nice video of the Killer Whales – you can view it here.
The Bigg’s ecotype is a transient or mammal hunting type of Killer Whale (aka Orca). This is the time of year that the California Transient Killer Whale population is frequently found off the coast of Monterey due to the high number of Gray Whale mother and calf pairs transiting the area. During the spring, Gray Whale calves are part of their main diet. We suspect that these Killer Whales sighted today have either killed their second Gray Whale calf for the season, or they are still feasting on a carcass from several days ago. They will share and carry a carcass around for several days as they feed on it.
