A wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip in the Salish Sea captured a tense and extraordinary moment when a harbor seal escaped a coordinated killer-whale hunt by climbing onto the stern of her boat.
Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20-foot vessel about 40 miles northwest of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight orcas closing in on a lone seal. Their synchronized tail slaps and tight formation signaled an active hunt. At one point, Drucker’s zoom lens caught the seal hurled through the air as the orcas churned the water beneath it.
As the chase intensified, the group cut the boat’s engine in line with wildlife regulations. Moments later, the terrified seal propelled itself onto the vessel’s small rear platform, clinging to it as its only refuge.
Unable to interfere, Drucker began filming as the pod circled the boat, appearing to work together to create waves to knock the seal back into the sea. The “wave-washing” tactic, documented by scientists since the 1980s, rocked the vessel repeatedly. The seal slipped into the water at least once but managed to climb back on.
After roughly 15 minutes, the orcas gave up and moved on.
Drucker, who has long photographed orcas hunting, admitted the moment stirred mixed emotions. She told the Associated Press that while she usually roots for the whales, she found herself hoping the seal would hold on.
The orcas involved were Bigg’s also known as “transient” killer whales, a population that feeds on seals and other marine mammals. They differ from the salmon-dependent resident orcas of the Pacific Northwest, which remain on the endangered species list.
1 Comment
Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post