San Benitos Island - Isla Benito del Oeste (west island of the San Benito group), Baja California, Mexico, North America, North Pacific Ocean
Collection Date:
28 Dec 1973
Notes:
To date, attacks by killer whales (Orcinus orca) upon elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) have been conjectured, but never documented. On 28 Dec. 1973, while aboard a 14 ft. skiff from Cape Polaris, William Samaras and Steven Leatherwood were in the process of observing and photographing killer whale hunting and feeding behavior during which time they witnessed the stalking, herding and attack upon an elephant seal by two killer whales. The incident occurred at about 1:00 p.m. local time off the NW tip of Isla Benito del Oeste (West Is.) of the Islas San Benito group, Baja California. Two killer whales, a bull approximately 7 m. long and a female 4.5 m. in length, were observed stalking the elephant seal and apparently herding it out to sea. The elephant seal was estimated to weigh at least 1,818 kg. (about 4,000 lbs.) and to be 4-5 m. in length. The killer whales attacked and slashed at the seal three times. The initial attack was the most intense. The bull whale slashed open the visceral area of the seal. The second attack caused the seal to regurgitate blood. After the third attack, the seal sank out of sight. The total attack sequence took less than 45 seconds. At no time after the elephant seal (a bull) first surfaced did it attempt to evade or flee from the two killer whales. No attempt by the whales to feed on the seal was observed. They merely killed or mortally wounded it and then departed the scene. When the skiff returned to the site at a later time, the seal's carcass could not be found.
Record Last Modified:
16 Feb 2023
Specimen Count:
1
Taxonomy:
Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Eutheria, Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinidae
