Orcas dubbed ‘Golden Girls’ grab spotlight off Monterey
Boaters in California’s Monterey Bay on Thursday spotted three killer whales, older females no longer accompanied by family members, traveling together as a newly formed social group.
It was so touching that the orcas came to be called the “The Golden Girls,” in reference to the popular 1980s-90s sitcom about four elderly women who share a home.
“These three have not always hung out together, but are now post-reproductive females that have something in common,” Nancy Black, owner of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, told For The Win Outdoors.
Passengers and crew aboard three of Black’s vessels saw the killer whales traveling south toward Carmel. Black said they were moving at high speed and caused blue whales and dolphins to scatter.
After the encounter, Jade DeSorte, the partner of one of the company’s naturalists, called them “The Golden Girls” and the name stuck.
Transient killer whales are highly social animals that typically travel in small family groups. They rely on each other socially, for emotional support, and as hunting companions.
The Golden Girls are known orcas, having been photo-cataloged as CA26, CA36, and CA180 by the California Killer Whale Project, which Black co-founded with Alisa Schulman-Janiger.
Two of the three are known traveling companions, while the third recently lost a son and apparently found two new friends.
“They seem to have found each other and have become their own social group,” Schulman-Janiger said.
None of the orcas has produced offspring for at least 20 years, and Black estimated their ages to be in the late 50s, 60s, or even 70s.
Schulman-Janiger said that besides the social aspect, transient killer whales are much more efficient hunters as groups, since they prey on marine mammals such as dolphins and gray whales.
“They work with each other, they catch prey together, and they share their food,” Schulman-Janiger said. “So it’s much easier for three orcas to chase down food than it is for one.”
The accompanying images were captured by Monterey Bay Whale Watch naturalist Joshua Meza-Fidalgo.