Boaters watch ‘majestic’ sea creatures play with their food, video shows. ‘Incredible’
A group of whale watchers recently encountered a “majestic” moment in Monterey Bay, California.
While on a Blue Ocean Whale Watch tour, the boaters spotted approximately seven killer whales “hunting a sea lion,” according to a Nov. 30 Facebook post. The orcas were launching themselves into the air, like porpoises.
“They seemed to be prolonging the hunt as they easily could have struck the sea lion each time (they) porpoised,” the tour agency said in its post. “But were just porpoising near it and allowing it to escape for over an hour.”
A video shows the massive creatures diving in and out of the water. Some clips show the sea lion swimming below the huge predators.
The agency said Frosty, a rare all-white orca, was among the pod.
Frosty was spotted in Monterey Bay in October, according to a Facebook post from Monterey Bay Whale Watch. The whale’s coloring is possibly due to leucism or a syndrome called Chediak-Higashi.
“One of the most aerial and fascinating encounters we’ve ever had with killer whales,” Blue Ocean Whale Watch said in its post.
Social media users shared their excitement about the sighting.
“This made my day,” one person commented.
“Incredible,” another commenter wrote.
“So majestic,” a third comment said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Boaters watch ‘majestic’ sea creatures play with their food, video shows. ‘Incredible’."
