Orcas Return to South Bay

A group of transient orcas is back harassing gray whales and feeding on sea lions in the South Bay, according to the Los Angeles chapter of the American Cetacean Society.

At least seven orcas—commonly known as killer whales—were seen feeding on sea lions Thursday by the sportfishing boat Redondo Special several miles off the coast of Redondo Beach, Phil Friedman reported on his website.

"We have watched them eat at least four sea lions," galley cook Mark Zahza told Friedman. "They were tossing the sea lions in the air like they were rag dolls."

In a Facebook post, ACS volunteer Alisa Schulman-Janiger said the orcas spotted Wednesday belonged to the CA51—who last visited in February—and CA27 groups. A dozen of them off the Palos Verdes Peninsula on Wednesday afternoon.

Transient orcas are normally spotted off Monterey and northern California, according to Pete Thomas of Pete Thomas Outdoors. The attack on the gray whale in the South Bay was the first time in nearly 30 years that volunteers from the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project witnessed a kill in the area.

This is not the first time the transient orcas have appeared in the South Bay. At least three different groups have made appearances since January.