VIDEO: Killer whales seen hunting near the mouth of the Columbia River
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A pod of transient orcas was seen hunting near the South Jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River in recent days.
Local man Josh Carlucci told KOIN 6 News that he filmed orcas flipping a seal or sea lion around in the water Saturday morning. Based on their behavior, it looked like the mother was teaching her calf to hunt, Carlucci said.
More orca sightings are rumored to have occurred near the mouth of the Columbia River this week. However, local officials were unable to confirm any recent sightings. NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Michael Milstein told KOIN 6 News that it's not unusual for orcas to hunt around the mouth of the Columbia River. Milstein also provided a statement from a local NOAA Fisheries researcher who said that orcas work together to hunt like a wolf pack.
“It is not unusual for mammal-eating killer whales to be hunting mammals near the river entrance, and apparently the South Jetty in particular,” the NOAA Fisheries expert said. “One [Columbia River Bar Pilot] described to me a hunting strategy where one or two killer whales would harass sea lions hauled out on the South Jetty rocks from the ocean side of the jetty, even though they couldn't reach the sea lions. The harassment would trigger those sea lions on the south side to galumph up the rocks and sometimes decide to jump off the jetty into the river on the north side, away from the killer whales jumping at them from the ocean — where the unfortunate sea lions would promptly be snatched up by the rest of the pod that was waiting for them on the river side.”
KOIN 6 will continue to monitor the area for more killer whale sightings.