Another great office window sighting...

Just watched a small pod of orcas hunt a harbor porpoise outside my office window.  One large male, an adult female, and two young – one much smaller than the other.  I first spotted the tall dorsal fin of the male cruising by, and then it really caught my eye when it appeared that one of the adults kicked things off with a big splash – perhaps the first hit on the porpoise.  The male backed off and stayed on the periphery while the female and two young tried a series of approaches.  They'd let the porpoise race out to open water for a short while, then speed after it and herd it back to the starting point.  The young grabbed the porpoise at least a couple times.  And the three would back off slightly and take turns darting in and out to cut off escape routes.  Just when the porpoise looked tired out, the group disappeared for a couple minutes behind a small island. When they emerged, it was just the four orcas back in travelling mode – heading south for the next adventure.  Impossible to tell, but it looked similar to group that was spotted on Saturday in Gastineau Channel near downtown (their pictures were in Sunday's paper).   The whole thing lasted about 7-8 minutes. 

 

Nature, red in tooth and claw...