Killer Whales Return To Monterey Bay

Wednesday, April 26, 2006
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - Killer whales have returned to Monterey Bay and a pod of orcas killed a gray whale in the bay late Tuesday.

The bay provides one of the best places for orcas to trap gray whale calves as they migrate north with their mothers, and although the calves are bigger, they have no defense against an attack by killer whales.

The recent attack was captured on tape by Nancy Black of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, who has been studying the behavior of whales in the area for years.

Killer whales work as a team, with their black and white markings distinguishable as they attack a gray whale calf and its mother.

"They kind of take different roles. One will try to separate the mother from the calf. The others are all blocking it from moving forward and some are pushing the calf from underneath, some from the top, so it's coordinated -- they're working together," Black said.

The orcas have found the bay a prime hunting ground.

"They patrol the canyon because the gray whales have to cross that deep canyon and the killer whales patrol back and forth," Black said.

Black and marine biologists from Monterey Bay Whale Watch study the killer whales by photo-identifying individual orcas and documenting their behavior patterns.

Source: KSBW