Killer whales hunt and play off California coast as excited boaters watch, photos show
.jpg "Killer whales are social creatures that live and travel in pods. They even have pod-specific anthems they repeat to one another.")
Boaters with Monterey Bay Whale Watch spotted a pod of six killer whales off the coast of California.
The pod was highly active on Sept. 5, engaged in all kinds of surface athletics and feeding, according to a Facebook post by the organization.
“From chasing a mola mola, hunting sea lions, hunting a harbor porpoise, playing with a spot prawn buoy, to celebrating with breaches and spyhops,” MBWW said. “There were so many behaviors to see!”
Killer whales, or orcas as they are often called, are highly social ocean predators that live and travel in groups, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Killer whales rely on underwater sound to feed, communicate, and navigate,” says NOAA. “Pod members communicate with each other through clicks, whistles and pulsed calls.”
In fact, each pod in the North Pacific has a unique set of calls that they learn like family-specific anthems. These anthems bond the group and are passed on to other members.
This story was originally published September 9, 2024 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Killer whales hunt and play off California coast as excited boaters watch, photos show."