Point Reyes Light - July 21, 2005
Killer whales spotted off Point Reyes
By Will Kennedy
A pod of orcas reportedly made a playground of the waters off Point Reyes National Seashore’s North Beach last Sunday. San Anselmo resident Mahriah Blackwolf on Monday told The Light she sighted at least eight killer whales swimming close to shore. Blackwolf said she has visited the beach for many years, but had never seen Orcas before Sunday.
"Two jumped clear out of the water," she said. Blackwolf added that she could plainly see the whales, which were not much more than 200 yards from shore. "They were there from about 1:30 a.m. until I left at about 4 p.m." she said.
Inverness resident David Wimpfheimer is a naturalist and a friend of Blackwolf’s who leads whale watching expeditions. Wimpfheimer said that Orcas tend to stay in deeper waters, but occasionally alter that behavior. "Its moderately uncommon seeing them [that] close to shore" he said. Wimpfheimer also said that Killer Whales are "fairly playful" animals, and that Orca "play" can include the whales’ tossing the dismembered carcass of their prey, to and fro, amongst themselves. By Blackwolf’s account, however, these whales were engaged in less gory activities.