Spotted Preying Orcas in Baja Lagoon Jeopardizing Gray Whale Survival

MEXICO- As they try to swim back to survival, a new threat to the lives of limited gray whales in Baja Calving Lagoon arises. Gray whales, already facing an unexplained population drop, might face a fatal new threat.

Orcas have been spotted in Mexico's gray haven for the first time in recorded history: the balmy, shallow wetlands of the Baja Peninsula, from which these 40-foot leviathans calve, nurse, and mate in solitude. Conservationists previously saw the region as a safe haven from shipping, and fishing gear, particularly killer whales - the ocean's dominant species.

Based on studies and local fishermen, who live in the coastal areas of Baja, orcas have visited Laguna San Ignacio twice this year. When orcas killed two native bottlenose dolphins in January, a bunch emerged and was recorded. They may have also slaughtered a gray whale newborn; however, nobody has yet been discovered to prove this.

Predatory Threat From Orcas

Orca Network, a group, headquartered in Freeland, Washington, stated a fragment of skin and blubber was discovered, but no diagnostics were done to achieve a definitive ID. A gray whale baby and its mother (cow) swim alongside a boat throughout the San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja, California. Gray whales migrate across Alaska to Baja, California, to breed and give birth. The birth rate has plummeted drastically, as reported by Phys.

It is uncertain whether the two orca pods were the same individuals. According to Steven Swartz, a main investigator with the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Project, while biologists could picture and recognize each orca in January, no study team was there to document the assault last week.

Orcas are typical of the wildlife down there, and they have been off the Baja coast and across the Gulf of California for a long time, making them familiar to the region. The strange thing was that the scientists had never had authentic, verifiable, real-time observations of gray whales in their breeding lagoons, added by Swartz, who resides in Maryland when not observing whales in Baja Lagoon.

ALSO READ: Massive 30-Foot Sperm Whale Washed Ashore in Israel Beach Found Dead; The Second Case This Year

Killer Whales Sighting in Baja

While a killer whale had never been reported in the lagoon before - dating back to the mid-1800s. Swartz emphasized that the occurrence was the second occasion they are aware of though they may have visited more frequently, but we never saw the apex marine predators, or perhaps they came in at night.

In February 2021, a trusting gray whale calf swam alongside a boat in Baja California's San Ignacio Lagoon. On the other hand, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed earlier this month that the population of gray whales in the eastern North Pacific region had shrunk by about 40% ever since its peak in 2016. In addition, the number of calves born the previous year was the lowest recorded since records began.

Unusual Mortality Event of Grays in 2019

After an alarming number of gray whales washed dead on shores from Mexico to Alaska in 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported an "unusual mortality event." The reason for the die-off remained unknown at the time, but it appears that something severely changed the food web of these enormous bottom-feeding whales. Gray whales travel from Mexico's Baja Peninsula's warm, protected lagoons to the Arctic and subarctic seas each year. They return to Mexico to mate, give birth, and nurture their calves.

It's a 12,000-mile round-trip journey that takes whales past North America's bustling shoreline, through sea routes, fishing vessels, packed and aggressive tourist boats, or occasionally into the gaping maw of ravenous orcas.

Moreover, Swartz highlighted both the gray whales' habit and the small lagoon might prohibit the orcas from causing excessive injury to the gray whales if they approach when the giants are around, as stated in a report from ADN. Gray whales can be quite protective and violent - especially when a female and her young are endangered, noting that orca hunt in packs, similar to wolves.

RELATED ARTICLE: Gray Whale Could Make Atlantic Comeback After Disappearance; Here Are the Clues

Check out more news and information on Whales in Science Times.