Boaters in awe as orcas practice 'punting' skills on seabirds

Orcas that prey on marine mammals sometimes “punt” seals or sea lions high into the air to stun the pinnipeds before meal time.

On Saturday in California’s Monterey Bay, one young orca was caught on video practicing its skills on a large seabird.

The accompanying footage, captured by Evan Brodsky of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the orca using its flukes to launch a common murre nearly 20 feet skyward.

“Killer Whales vs. Common Murres,” Brodsky described via Instagram. “Safe to say the Orca won. Bad Day to be a Murre.”

The killer whales, or orcas, were observed breaching and spyhopping near whale-watching vessels, while some were busy tormenting murres.

“They don’t call them demons from hell for nothing,” Brodsky joked in reference to the orcas, which did not eat any of the murres they harassed.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said Brodsky’s footage revealed “a perfect example of the punting behavior.”

The researcher added, “They’re practicing for the pinnipeds when they do this. They might smack them with their heads or flukes, but the big thing is to use their flukes to throw them into the air so they’ll be stunned when they come down.”

The California Killer Whale Project identified the six-member family unit as the CA51As, led by the matriarch, nicknamed Aurora.

Brodsky captured his footage from aboard the Point Sur Clipper. The image atop this post, captured by Capt. Warren Asher of the Sea Wolf II,  shows one of the killer whales breaching next to the Point Sur Clipper.