Talk about an incredible day for these onlookers, and terrible day for this seal.
On the West Coast, it’s very normal for orcas (or killer whales, if you will) to hunt seals.
However, what isn’t normal is to catch a killer whale literally punting a seal 70-plus feet into the air.
Nevertheless, this actually happened back in 2015, and it’s all been documented on for us to see.
Researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger re-posted snapshots of the seal flying into the air on Facebook, with the whale’s tail sticking out of the water.
She wrote:
“Hungry Orca, Flying Seal: unforgettable memory from 8 years ago! A perfect ‘busman’s holiday’: going whale watching during my four days in Port Angeles between legs of my NOAA CLaWS Cruise!
The highlight of our trip on the Island Explorer 3 (out of Port Angeles) was a harbor seal predation by Bigg’s killer whales, the T069s.
After three failed attempts, adult male T069C tossed a harbor seal more than 70 feet up into the air – sending it flying wide-eyed above the circling gulls!
I took five photos after my highest capture, with no seal in sight; lowered my camera, looked for the seal – and saw it splash down next to the submerged orca several seconds later!
His mom T069 and two siblings were hunting nearby; all enjoyed harbor seal for lunch. Jaw-dropping encounter: WOW!”
This is just something you’d never expect to see while spending a day whale watching. How many people can say they’ve witnessed a seal get punted straight up into the air like a ragdoll?
Check it out:
