Seal escapes orca hunt by jumping onto photographer’s boat

SEATTLE– A wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip to the waters off Seattle captured spectacular video and photos of a pod of orcas chasing a seal that only survived by climbing onto the stern of his boat.

Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20-foot boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles northwest of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also called orcas.

The orcas’ coordinated movements and tail slaps suggested they were hunting. Drucker used his camera’s zoom lens to spot a harbor seal trying to flee the group. One of her photos showed the seal flying through the air above the melee of water-foaming orcas, and she assumed she was witnessing the seal’s last moments alive.

But as the orcas got closer to the boat, Drucker and his group realized the group was still chasing the seal. In accordance with wildlife navigation regulations, they had turned off the engine to prevent any harm to the whales. The seal climbed out of the water and onto a swimming platform at the back of the boat, near the engine, claiming it as a sort of life raft.

Wildlife regulations also prohibit touching or interfering with the seal, but Drucker began filming video.

“You poor thing,” Drucker can be heard saying, as the seal looks at her. “You’re okay, stay, buddy.”

The orcas did not give up immediately, but rather appeared to team up to rock the boat and knock the seal off. Drucker’s cellphone video shows the orcas lining up and moving around the boat with staggered dives to create waves. The “wave washing” technique has been documented by scientists since at least the 1980s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The seal on Drucker’s boat slipped at least once, but managed to climb back up and the orcas swam away after about 15 minutes.

Drucker has photographed dead seals in the mouths of orcas before, and she says she’s usually happy when the whales can eat.

“I’m definitely Team Orca, all day, every day. But once that seal was on the boat, I kind of transformed (into) Team Seal,” she said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Killer whales that hunt seals and a diverse set of marine animals in the region are known as Bigg’s or “transient” orcas. They are better fed than other, more specialized species like the salmon-focused “resident” orcas that are on the endangered species list, according to NOAA.