Hello Monterey Bay…Let’s get ready to rummbbbllleee…
The Orcas have had their way with the Gray whales, killing seven of them in the past 12 days during their annual migration from Mexico to Alaska. However the Grays are tight with the Humpbacks, who have intervened in force now. It’s a whole new fight…don’t go to the refrigerator…
Humpbacks trying to fight off killer whale feeding frenzy
www.sfgate.com |
A pod of killer whales have killed seven whales in 12 days in Monterey Bay, but the humpback whales in the area appear to be doing just about everything they can to stop the feeding frenzy.
SFGATE reported last week on the killer whales' unprecedented string of attacks on gray whales, which are migrating through the Monterey Bay on their way from Mexico to Alaska. The back-to-back killings have certainly drawn attention. But as San Francisco Chronicle outdoors writer Tom Stienstra pointed out in his most recent column, the involvement of humpback whales in these interactions has been largely overlooked.
Nancy Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, explained that humpback whales have come to Monterey Bay a few weeks earlier than usual this year. Black estimates there are about 60 or 70 in the area right now. Their early arrival means they're around to witness the orcas' hunting season.
And the humpbacks don't seem content to eat anchovies and mind their own business.
"Humpbacks like to interfere with the killer whales for some strange reason," Black told SFGATE. "They seem to want to protect the prey."
