California Transient Orcas

Blog dedicated to the Transient (Bigg's) orcas of the California coast identified as the CA's. Includes images, news, art, and any other related musings. All images belong to their rightful owners and will be credited wherever possible. Enjoy! Banner image by cetuselena

[cetuselena]

CA165 Lonesome George

[californiatransients]

How old is lonesome George?

He’s likely somewhere around 35-40 years old!

[californiatransients]

10/14/19 - 50+ year old male CA10.

Photo by Blue Ocean Whale Watch

[californiatransients]

Do you know of any updated CA Transient Photo ID Guide? The only one I could find was from September 1997. I doubt It's up to date and I was wondering if you had any further information. I hope you have an awesome day/night.

Hey there! Unfortunately that is the only ID guide currently publicly available at this time. The Transient Killer Whale Project in conjunction with Monterey Bay Marine Life Studies, as well as the California Killer Whale Project, are all in the process of developing new ID guides.

These whales are tricky to follow though, as they can go unsighted for months or even years at a time, so it takes a lot of time to get reliable data. I will be sure to share more once I know!

[cetuselena]

Another Polymer figurine! Based off OCT30B (CA140B) & she’s about 8 ½".

| Site |

[cetuselena]

OCT001(CA60) & OCT030(CA140)

[californiatransients]

Do California's Transient Orcas spend all year off California's coast?

Scientists aren’t entirely sure, but it looks like the answer is no! They are most often seen along the California coast in the spring and fall months, and they can be sighted all year round. However, between those seasons there are often huge gaps between sightings - some pods aren’t seen for months at a time, and some groups are only seen once or twice a year, if at all. We’re not really sure where these whales are going, but there is evidence that they travel north up the West Coast. CA transients have been seen around Washington state, British Columbia, and even Glacier Bay, Alaska!

[californiatransients]

9/12/19 - Three post-menopausal females dubbed “The Golden Girls” were seen traveling south together near Carmel at high speed. From top to bottom they are CA26, CA36, and CA180.

These three have been observed for over the past 30 years, and are believed to be aged anywhere from their 50′s to their 70′s! CA26 and CA36 have been known to travel together, but CA180 is a new addition: her regular traveling companion and presumed older son CA24 went missing last year, and her additional traveling companion male N25 has not been spotted yet this season.

Photos by Joshua Meza-Fidalgo

[cetuselena]

CA138′s & CA51′s today! They’re not the same group of whales that were seen this morning!

6/18/2019

[cetuselena]

CA40 & CA137.

[kohola-kai-deactivated20220130]

CA51 Family Encounter (x)

[californiatransients]

9/4/19 - Very exciting news! A brand new calf has been spotted in the CA216 matriline with grayish pigmentation, exactly like the little off-colored calf T46B1B in the Pacific Northwest. You can still see the faint fetal folds, indicating that this is a newborn individual.

This is not the same calf, family, or population from the PNW, however CA transients occasionally intermingle with other West Coast transient populations. Who knows what the genetic connection could be between these two calves, if there even is one!

Photos by Kate Cummings with Blue Ocean Whale Watch

[the-cetacean]

Killer Whales Playing (Monterey Bay Whale Watching, GoWhales.com)

[nowscience-blog]

This rather heartbreaking clip shows an Orca dragging a baby Humpback Whale by the tail.

I know it’s not sad but the wild is a cruel and unforgiving place. So don’t please don’t hate on us.

[californiatransients]

Here’s the source of the video

This was filmed off the Baja California peninsula, Mexico by Whale Watch Cabo. These appear to be Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) orcas, which are known to feed on a variety of prey items, including large marine mammals. It’s very rare to capture underwater footage of predation, so this is really stunning.

I can’t quite get clear IDs on them, I’ll have to dig in to the ETP ID guide to see if there are any matches! The adult male looks most closely like E231, but I’ll have to double check.

[californiatransients]

Does CA140B1 have a name? i know their mom's name is louise and their sibling is little bee but i cant find anything about B1??

Unfortunately as far as I know I don’t believe CA140B1 has a nickname..! She may, but I’ve never heard it before.

@cetuselena may have heard something through the whale-watching grapevine, but for now I think just her mom and little sibling have nicknames.

[californiatransients]

Can you explain a little more of individuals CA49B, CA49C, and CA50B ??? Are these 3 orphans and commonly join in with other pod like Emma’s pod and CA51As? It makes sense in that perspective for CA49B and CA50B since I know they’re males but for CA49C? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! They’re so beautiful and mysterious to me. Love to know more about these guys!

Hey there! Great question!

CA49B Richie (above [x]) and CA49C are orphaned siblings (brother and sister respectively) - their mother CA49 disappeared I believe about a decade ago. CA49B tends to have looser traveling habits: he will travel alone, with his sister, with other adult males, and with other matrilines. CA49C travels full-time with the CA51A’s, Aurora’s pod.

CA50B (above [x]) is an adult orphaned male, and the only surviving offspring of CA50, who disappeared about 5-6 years ago. They were occasionally seen traveling with the CA140′s, Emma’s pod, as seen here:

(First photo [x] from left to right: CA140, CA50, CA50B. Second photo [x] from left to right: CA140B, CA50B, CA140, CA50)

While he occasionally travels alone or with other adult males like CA165, CA50B mostly travels full-time with CA51A Aurora’s pod. Aurora’s pod of five seems to do quite well together!

[californiatransients]

6/13/19 - CA51C Bumper belly-flopping after a sea lion hunt.

Photos by Tim Huntington with Blue Ocean Whale Watch