Waking up early to rain and dark, overcast skies after a good stretch of amazing sunny, warm weather was a little undesirable, but I had a feeling something amazing was going to happen. A few minutes later, reports were coming in of groups of Transient orcas all over the place. Luckily, I was working on the "Odyssey", a San Juan Excursions whale watching boat, so I hoped we would be able to catch up with one of the groups.
We departed Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, and headed North to Spieden Island where we found some steller sea lions. A few minutes later we received a report that a group of Transients had been found by a Victoria whale watching boat only few miles away. Transients, unlike Resident orcas, eat marine mammals and this group was attacking a steller sea lion.
We departed Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, and headed North to Spieden Island where we found some steller sea lions. A few minutes later we received a report that a group of Transients had been found by a Victoria whale watching boat only few miles away. Transients, unlike Resident orcas, eat marine mammals and this group was attacking a steller sea lion.
Steller sea lions hauled out on Spieden Island on 4/27/13.
Male steller sea lions can reach up to twelve feet long, weigh in at about 2,400 pounds and are the largest sea lions in the world. The transient orcas were going after a sea lion nearly that size so we made our way toward them. I had seen Transient orcas prey on seals before but never a sea lion, which takes much longer and there are bigger tactics used, including: ramming, full body lunging, tail strikes, blowing bubbles in the sea lions face to so it can't see while other orcas attack, belly flopping on the sea lion and more. Soon we were on scene with the Transient orcas.
 |  Adult female T036A swipes her tail at the sea lion to the left. |  |
The group of Transients was made up of three matrilines, with ten animals altogether. They were T036As, T049Bs and the T065As. T036A, T049B and T065A, all adult females, looked like they were teaching their young how to successfully kill a sea lion. The juveniles and calves seemed to dart in to attack the sea lion and then hang back for a while to play and watch the adults.
 |  One of the kids lunges past the sea lion to tail slap it. |  |
 T065A3 at left, a tail slapper in the middle, and adult female T49B on the right. |  T065A3 at left, a tail slapper in the middle, and adult female T49B on the right. |
 |  T049B1 leaps past the steller sea lion. |  |
One of the best parts of this encounter, though it was all exciting, occurred when a year-old calf called T036A2 breached out of the water but found mama spy hopping underneath... HER.. and bounced off. Yes, I said HER, because it looks like T36A2 is a little girl, although she won't be little for long!!
T036A2 bounces off her mother, T036A, while breaching!
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Adult female T049B slaps the sea lion.
Adult female T065A with the steller sea lion to the left.
 |  Adult female T065A rolls her body on top of the sea lion to strike it with her tail. |  |
The orcas had already been attacking the sea lion for quite some time before we arrived on scene and we were with them for about thirty minutes. The sea lion was finally killed and eaten about forty minutes after we left.
 |  One of the adult females lunges at the sea lion. |  |
 Adult female T065A strikes the sea lion in the the face, its pectoral fin visible to the right. |  Adult female T065A strikes the sea lion in the the face, its pectoral fin visible to the right. |
I had finally seen Transients take out a steller see lion! What will happen next?
Please do not use any of my photos without permission.
Please do not use any of my photos without permission.
