Pods of killer whales make rare appearances off Ventura County

Whale watching boats off Ventura County recently spotted several groups of orcas, also known as killer whales.

The sightings of the black-and-white orcas are not a first in the area, but Ventura-based Island Packers boats spotted two separate populations within a week in late December. Around the same time, a whale watching expedition further from the coast reported seeing a different type of orcas called offshore.

“This is unusual to have three different populations of killer whales in one area during the same period,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project.

Two of the groups spotted by Island Packers around Christmas were Bigg’s, a type of killer whale seen in the area previously though not often. Then, on Dec. 31, the company reported a more unusual sighting of Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas. All were around the deep-water Hueneme Canyon.

“We’re not quite sure why they’re all here right now,” Schulman-Janiger said. “But they’re all definitely hunting.”

Experts also don't know how long it will last.

When did the killer whales show up?

The Island Packers crew and passengers hoped to spot orcas when they headed out for a whale watching trip on Dec. 24.

“Companies south of us had been seeing Eastern Tropical Pacific orca for about a week and a half before that,” said Andrea Mills, Island Packers education coordinator.

Instead, they saw a different population – a pod of Bigg’s killer whales in the Hueneme Canyon area, Mills said. The day after Christmas, more orcas were spotted in the spot off the local coast. This time, it was an entirely differently pod, she said.

The orcas tend to travel in small groups, usually families, Schulman-Janiger said. That may mean a mom and her children or sometimes a few moms join up together. They hunt in small groups.

A new calf was spotted in the second group. It was the first time the calf – likely born just six weeks or so earlier – had been documented, she said.

Over the years, sightings of those pods have been reported off Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. But most often, they’re seen off Monterey.

“We just don’t see Bigg’s killer whales as often down in Southern California as we do in Central California, like in Monterey Bay,” Schulman-Janiger said.

What did the orcas do in the water?

The orcas had made a kill and were still feeding on Dec. 24. But after the hunt, they also appeared to celebrate, Mills said.

They jumped out of the water, slapped tails into the waves and shot straight up, head first out of the ocean – “lots of behavior that wasn’t just your standard swimming along,” she said.

The sight "was super exciting for everybody on board, including me, because I had never seen an orca breach before," she said.

Celebrating is common behavior observed with Bigg's after they hunt, according to Schulman-Janiger. The orcas will roll together, jump out of the water or smack their tails.

Island Packers didn't spot the orcas from the Eastern Tropical Pacific region for several more days. Then, on Dec. 31, they saw a group near Hueneme Canyon.

Why are Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas around right now?

Those orcas come up from south of the U.S.-Mexico border and there's likely multiple types in that region, Schulman-Janiger said.

"We don't see them very often," Schulman-Janiger said.

But sightings of orcas from the region have happened in multiple years and as recently as October off San Diego. This time, however, appears to be the longest a particular group has stuck around.

One group of 10 or part of the group has been spotted around Southern California more than a dozen times since Dec. 11. One reason may be the ample supply of what appears to be their food of choice – common dolphins.

"I can't tell you why right now they decided to take a road trip," Schulman-Janiger said. "But I wouldn't at all be surprised that they decided to linger because of so many dolphin around."

Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.