On Monday, May 8, whale watchers along the Oregon coast spotted a rare sight: a pod of orcas appearing to hunt prey together in an organized group.
Local photographers Jaklyn Larsen and Hannah Dimich captured rare, dramatic images of the orca pod hunting in the waters between Cape Foulweather and Gull Rock on the central Oregon coast.
According to Craig Hayslip, a faculty research assistant with the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU who witnessed the event, the mother defended the calf throughout the time it was being attacked and long after it was dead. As night fell, the mother finally swam away heading north and the orcas stayed behind.
Orca sightings along the Oregon coast have gone up in recent years as populations of transient orcas – a different subspecies from the famous imperiled resident orcas located in the waters around Washington’s San Juan islands – have increased.
The Oregonian/OregonLive’s travel and outdoors reporter Jamie Hale reported last year that transient orcas have returned to the Oregon coast in numbers in recent years thanks to conservation efforts that have restored populations of prey animals – like seals, sea lions and gray whales.
Commonly called ‘killer whales,’ orcas are actually the largest member of the dolphin family, according to the Ocean Conservancy.
The sighting of the orca pod predation was first reported by Yachats News. You can see more photos there.
Check out Jaklyn Larsen’s full drone footage here:
LEARN MORE:
--Get to know 10 of Oregon’s most famous gray whales
--Orca exhibit promises to make a splash at OMSI this summer