Written by Debra Lynn
On a calm and cloudy Christmas Eve last year, at around 10:30 a.m., Quatsino resident Alan Johnson was in his home preparing for an unexpected quick trip down-Island.
When he looked out his window, he saw a humpback whale cruising east to west about 300 feet off the beach. He didn鈥檛 make too much of it because he often sees whales from his house on a point at the western end of Quatsino village, located on the northwest corner of Vancouver Island.
Five minutes later, as he headed to the wharf to get on his boat, he noticed 鈥渁ll this commotion鈥� on the water.
Johnson saw three killer whales 鈥渋n a frenzy in one area.鈥� He added, they were 鈥渃oming partially out of the water, diving down, partially out of the water, diving down.鈥�
He then noticed that a humpback was part of the commotion. He saw the humpback was on its side, just barely above water. A flipper came up and it sank under the surface while 鈥渢hese three killer whales were just right on top of it.鈥�
He said it was hard to see clearly, because 鈥渢here was so much churning and foam and everything鈥� and that there were no pauses or delays.
鈥淚t was very intense. I mean, there was no slacking off with these,鈥� because as soon as they came out of the water, they were 鈥淏ang! Back down on top!鈥�
While the two smaller killer whales kept attacking the humpback from the side, the largest orca鈥攚hich he describes as one of the largest he鈥檚 ever seen 鈥� would breach straight up and then fall straight down on the humpback. This happened about four or five times.
鈥淚 would suggest that they were just trying to force it down into the water,鈥� Johnson said, speculating the whales鈥� whole plan may have been to drown the humpback.
Johnson watched the scene for 15 or 20 minutes but had to leave. His wife, Heather, continued to watch from their house for another fifteen minutes. She says she saw the flipper of the humpback a couple more times and then, 鈥渆verything went quiet, absolutely quiet.鈥�
There was no sign of the humpback or the killer whales thereafter.
Although Johnson has seen plenty of whales in his life, this was the first time he has seen a whale-on-whale encounter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things that you鈥o through a lifetime without ever seeing, it even if you were on the water all the time.鈥�
Expert Analysis by The Marine Detective Jackie Hildering
When contacted by the Gazette, Jackie Hildering, a humpback whale researcher from the area鈥檚 Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), provided the following insights, requesting that her comments be published in full:
鈥淲e have records of over 60 interactions between humpbacks and both resident (fish-eating) and Bigg鈥檚 killer whales (mammal-eating).
鈥淲hile it is certainly possible that a humpback could be killed by Bigg鈥檚 killer whales, especially if young, injured, and/or skinny at the beginning of the feeding season, to date there is no confirmed death of a humpback whale being killed off our coast. It is important to realize that humpbacks are formidable.
鈥淭hey are 鈥榝ight whales.鈥� Instead of trying to flee such encounters like faster baleen whales, they typically hold their ground, and even advance toward the orcas. This can lead to VERY intense interactions as described by Alan and Heather.
鈥淲hat would be needed to confirm a death is photos showing which humpback whale was involved in the interaction and that whale鈥檚 body. Even for a humpback who comes back to feed in a specific area year after year, if that whale does not return, it is not conclusive that the whale died. The whale could be somewhere else.
鈥淚n the intense interactions we (MERS) have witnessed, and where we were able to identify which humpback(s) were involved, the humpbacks survived. One humpback whale, Freckles, has even been documented in intense interactions more than 10 times. Other humpbacks have scars (rake marks) from the teeth of killer whales, as a testament to surviving attacks.
鈥淐onsiderations in striving to interpret what Alan and Heather witnessed too are the size of most humpbacks at this time of year, and that 鈥榚verything went quiet.鈥�
鈥淎fter Bigg鈥檚 killer whales make a kill, they very often 鈥榤ill鈥� at the surface, socializing near the kill. We cannot know, but the interaction may have continued underwater and out of the range of what could be witnessed. Further clues about kills can be that when killer whales bite into blubber, a slick of oil appears at the surface and birds often take an interest in scraps.
鈥淣ote that it is normal for humpback whales to be alone and still off our coast in the winter. Some leave much later for the migration.
鈥淎ll this underlines the great value of eyes on the water such as Alan and Heather鈥檚 and in knowing who the whales are through the submission of photos taken outside 200 metres.
鈥淭his is a valued puzzle piece that may allow for further interpretation and understanding in the future.鈥�
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