Boaters encounter orca hunting party and scene is 'bananas'

Those on an exploratory cruise to San Miguel Island off Ventura on Wednesday were massively rewarded with the discovery of 15 orcas attacking and feasting on a large elephant seal.

As if that weren’t enough, afterward the sleek and powerful mammals became playful and curious, unleashing an array of acrobatic behaviors as passengers and crew watched in awe.

“Yesterday was absolutely bananas [and] here are some photos to prove it,” Delaney Trowbridge, a Pacific Offshore Expeditions captain, exclaimed Thursday via Instagram. “What followed after the kill could only be described as an ‘orca party’ as they erupted into breaches, spyhops, and tail lobs!”

San Miguel Island, 70 miles west of Ventura, Ca., is extremely remote so Trowbridge and co-captain Ryan Lawler were fortunate that the gamble paid off beyond expectations.

“I have been lucky to enjoy many amazing encounters with killer whales in Southern California waters over the years, but this one was an 11 [out of a possible] 10,” Trowbridge stated.

The group first encountered a family pod of seven orcas porpoising at high speed.

Lawler, who captured video footage showing a portion of the seal hunt, explained via Instagram that the seven orcas led the group to two other family groups that had surrounded the seal. (See footage below.)

Northern elephant seals can weigh more than 4,000 pounds so a single seal is a blubbery prize for Bigg’s killer whales, which prey almost exclusively on other marine mammals.

Lawler continued: “The seal had no chance as it was surrounded by 15 Killer Whales, and they spent hours holding the seal captive as they bumped and harassed it before finally killing it.”

The orca family groups included the scientifically cataloged CA216Bs, the CA138s, and a portion of the CA27s, according to the California Killer Whale Project.

San Miguel Island, a major rookery for seals and sea lions, is not routinely visited by commercial whale-watching companies.

But Pacific Offshore Expeditions has scheduled a series of 8-hour whale-watching excursions and “Killer Whale Quests” within Channel Islands National Park, possibly including San Miguel Island.