Graphic Content: Beaked Whale Predation
A wild, high intensity day with the Killer Whales of Bremer Bay as Queen and her pod were once again successful with a Gray’s Beaked Whale hunt. It was a cloudy day and on arrival in The Patch it was clear the Orca were focused on something they had been tracking with fast movements by the entire family pod. It can take many hours for Orca to track and secure a Beaked Whale due to their incredible down time and ability to work much deeper waters than what the Orca can work in safely. Surfacing with her family pod was Queen and a very unfortunate female Gray’s Beaked Whale who the Orca guided carefully to ensure that they didn’t encourage her to attempt diving away from them. Injuries had already been inflicted though during the ascent from the depths and it was clear to see the Orca were in complete control as they moved forward with Flapper and Queen showing their incredible strength as they pushed the Beaked Whale towards our bow before disappearing below. The kill was made quickly with blood, oil and a powerful release of bubbles and at this point it was over. The family were thrilled with their success as they fed happily with dozens of Shearwaters and Albatross launching themselves at the numerous scraps that were starting to be found around the Orca.
Always a bittersweet moment to witness a predation like this, we are happy to see the Orca secure much needed sustenance but at the same time always sadness to see the Beaked Whales in such a situation as they too are such beautiful creatures. The hunt was completed quickly and it was then set to be a fun filled afternoon for the Orca as the sustenance enjoyed gave a boost in blood sugar levels and endorphins released from the successful hunt. All of the Orca were in a very good mood as nearby pod Kidji and her family joined in the fun with the calves really stealing the show. Moonbeam looked like a full moon rising as she gracefully lifted upwards in an enormous spy hop before disappearing back into the Southern Ocean. Breaching, porpoising and spy hops were sighted all around as they launched themselves through the swell. The winds had spiked higher than forecast which only added to the drama unfolding as it seemed to switch the youngsters into extreme wild Orca mode as they made the most of the high energy from the weather and matched it with their acrobatic skills. Phenomenal to watch them launch with ease all around us as they deliberately lined up the Steep Point before moving with the swell underneath us and spiralling out the other side airborne, what a thrill! It is always very special to enjoy watching a day in the life of our oceans apex predator and observe the teamwork and social celebrations that result from a hard days foraging. The winds began to ease and with that the energy of the Orca settled as they reverted back to forage mode and began the routine of searching for that next meal once again.
