Encounter 04 - February 6, 2021
Yesterday we got a report of orcas in the bay! We identified them as the CA202s, nicknamed the Smileys. They hunted several California sea lions and at one point brought a sea lion carcass to the boat! They ate all of the carcass except the intestines and lungs.
Afterwards, they began celebrating and were extremely social as well as very interactive with the boat. they were boat riding and also following the boat. We noticed something orange in one of the killer whales mouths. Later, after reviewing the gopro footage, we discovered it was a sea nettle (jelly)! The calf, CA202C played with the sea nettle for a few minutes, allowing us to get excellent footage. It was a remarkable day with these rarely seen whales!
Thanks to Captain Tim (GWW) for alerting us to this sighting!
Screen grab of GoPro footage by Tory Kallman.