Seal Escapes Orcas By Jumping Onto Whale Watchers’ Boat

A seal leaped onto a boat to escape killer whales during a whale watching trip off Washington’s Camano Island. Photographer Charvet Drucker and her friends were observing orcas from 300-400 yards away in Saratoga Passage when they witnessed hunting behavior. Smith Siromaskul, another whale watcher, said on Facebook the “pod had been using him as hunting practice and he’d been batted up out of the water more than once.” The group turned off their engine as the animals approached. After thirty minutes, the seal jumped aboard their vessel. The orcas circled the boat searching for the seal for fifteen minutes before departing. When the boat neared shore, Drucker wrote “the seal decided it felt safe enough to leave the boat and jumped off on its own accord.” (Story URL)