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‘An incredible phenomenon’: Why orcas are loving Southern California – and could stay longer

A pod of orcas hunting off the coast of Southern California over the last month has given locals a rare opportunity to learn more about these clever and efficient animals — and they just might be sticking around.

The recent series of consistent sightings began when they were first spotted on Dec. 11 off the Los Angeles coast and they were more recently seen on Jan. 9 near Dana Point. The group of orcas — or killer whales, as they’re commonly called — have made their way up and down the coast several times, from San Diego to Ventura. Though it’s not the orcas’ first trip to Southern California from their home waters near Mexico and Central America — this group was first sighted in the area in 2018 — they have remained here much longer than usual this time.

A significant reason why: high quantities of their preferred food, common dolphins, along with potential impacts from this year’s El Nino conditions.

“Unless there’s a reason for them to go back down, I think they may be really enjoying what’s going on here with so many dolphins,” said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the lead research biologist at the California Killer Whale Project who has been tracking the orcas during their time here. “They’ve been super successful … it’s an incredible phenomenon.”

Over the last roughly 30 days, there have been at least 15 confirmed sightings of the group, which are part of the Eastern Tropical Pacific group of killer whales. At the latest sighting last Tuesday, Schulman-Janiger said the orcas were continuing north past Newport Beach.

Since the orcas don’t have a static migration pattern and instead follow their food source, they may continue to feed in Southern California waters, including in San Diego. They may also decide to return to the Mexican coast. In that case, there will be at least one more chance to see the orcas in San Diego — at least on this trip — since they have to pass by the city on their southbound journey.

Since 2018, members of this orca group have visited Southern California on numerous occasions, including in 2019, 2021 and last year, when they were here in July and October. Their previous trips weren’t nearly as long as this one, though.

The orcas’ extended stay this winter has led to an “unparalleled opportunity” to study and get to know them, Schulman-Janiger said.

Of the 10 orcas, she said seven are females and three are males, though there are no adult males. There are two mothers with their calves and what might be a grandmother orca, though researchers are still trying to determine the exact relationship between the animals.

This month, they named one of the larger ones Luna, and one of the calves is now called Cookie for a cookie-cutter shark bite on her body. Researchers have also started to recognize the orcas for their mannerisms.

“Cookie just pops up (out of the water),” Schulman-Janiger said. “She surfaces like a cork; her head will come straight up and then she does a belly flop. It’s so cute.”

Why this winter is different

Southern California is an excellent place for the orcas to teach their young how to hunt, since there are about one million or more common dolphins that live in local waters, said Dave Weller, the La Jolla-based director of the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

But this winter, El Nino conditions may also be helping to drive the orcas to Southern California and part of why they’ve stayed so long. El Ninos typically last nine months to a year and conditions in the U.S. are strongest in the late fall through the spring.

El Niño is coming this winter. The question is, will it be a whopper?

An El Nino can cause abnormally warm water in the Pacific Ocean and push southern animal species north. For the orcas, the warmer water temperatures in Southern California may match the temperatures they’re typically used to on the coast of Mexico and Central America, thereby extending their range, according to Vanessa Zobell, a postdoctoral researcher in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Machine Listening Lab.

Warm ocean temperatures driving them here, coupled with the high number of common dolphins, means that this pod of orcas is in the right place at the right time.

And since the orcas and dolphins seem to like hanging out near boats, whale watchers have also gotten to see some of the most brutal — and impressive — hunting expeditions.

“They’re so efficient,” Schulman-Janiger said of the animals’ dolphin-hunting technique. “It’s basically one hit and it’s gone.”

But there’s also a method to their practice: after the fourth or fifth kill, Schulman-Janiger said, it appears that the adult orcas will disable a dolphin and then let the younger ones finish the job — “basically orca school.”

Orcas’ impact on the marine ecosystem

Given the high number of common dolphins in Southern California, scientists at NOAA aren’t too worried that the orcas’ hunting will negatively impact their population, but there may be future concern for offshore and coastal bottlenose dolphins, which have much smaller numbers.

There are about 3,000 offshore bottlenose dolphins that can be found a few miles off shore or as far as the Channel Islands, Weller said, and around 500 coastal bottlenose dolphins that live in the region from Northern Baja to San Francisco, according to NOAA stock assessment reports.

Though the orcas typically kill common dolphins, there have been a few reports of bottlenose dolphin attacks in recent months, including a coastal bottlenose in La Jolla in December, Weller said. There is no current threat to the bottlenose dolphin population, but if the attacks become more frequent, Weller said it could have an impact.

The attack on the coastal bottlenose also meant that the orcas were swimming relatively close to shore, and farther from where their usual prey of common dolphins are found.

It wasn’t the only odd aspect of the orcas’ visit to Southern California: Last week, the group killed a baby gray whale that was migrating south with its mother.

“It’s rare because mothers are in very good condition at this time of the year, when they’re coming from their feeding areas, despite the fact that they’ve given birth and are nursing the calf,” Weller said. “They’re still pretty robust … and can put up a good fight with a group of killer whales to protect it.”

And then there’s the case of the beached fin whale late last month on a Pacific Beach shore. Though it can’t be proven who attacked the whale and likely caused it to beach itself, the animal had bite marks on its body from killer whales, according to the NOAA.

Another fin whale in mid-December, Schulman-Janiger added, was near the Port of Los Angeles, swimming just ahead of the group of orcas “at the highest possible speed away from them. It sure looked like that fin whale was having a strong reaction to the presence of these killer whales.”

How San Diegans can see them

San Diegans hoping to see the orcas in action can schedule a tour with one of the several whale watching companies in San Diego and throughout Southern California.

The Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales are known for being curious about boats and enjoy riding in the wake and at the bow, similarly to dolphins. They might also turn on their side and vocalize, Schulman-Janiger said, which is different from other types of killer whales.

Schulman-Janiger urges people to be courteous of other whale watchers and the animals when out on the water. If operating private boats, don’t race up on the orcas, since it may interfere with a hunt or harm one of the animals.

“This could be a once in a lifetime experience for so many people, but we’re in (the orcas’) environment, and they are busy living their lives, interacting with each other, cuddling … nursing, playing and hunting,” she said. “This is such a special opportunity and we certainly don’t want to scare them away.”