Mystery Monday revealed! The answer is: Orca
📸 by Team Searcher
Video by Paul Jones
That mystery whale ID was a tough one, for sure. Bottlenose, Risso’s or Pacific white-sided dolphins were good guesses, but that’s the dorsal fin of an orca or killer whale – likely a female or young animal. On Searcher trips, we can see the classic transient form which are known to migrate from Southern California. Last year, we got good looks at what is believed to be animals from the Eastern tropical Pacific. That said, orca classification is up for grabs right now as there are at least 10 ecotypes proposed, with little settled about that in the scientific literature. These animals are matriarchal in their social structure and very long-lived. While we don’t see them on every Searcher trip, we did see a small pod on the first 2020 trip, thanks to the sharp-eyed Marc Webber, who is a very seasoned Searcher naturalist and renowned pinniped expert. –Paul Jones
