Seal escapes orca hunt by jumping onto photographer's 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 known as orcas.

The orcas’ coordinated movements and tail slaps suggested they were hunting. Drucker used the zoom lens on her camera to spot a harbor seal trying to flee from the pod. One of her shots showed the seal flying through the air above the orcas frothing the water, and she assumed she witnessed the seal’s last moments alive.

But as the orcas got closer to the boat, Drucker and her group realized the pod was still chasing the seal. In line with wildlife boating regulations, they crew cut the engine to prevent injury to the whales. The seal clambered out of the water and onto a swimming platform at the stern of the boat near the motor — claiming it as a life raft of sorts.

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 up at her. “You’re good, just stay, buddy.”

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

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

Drucker photographed dead seals in the mouths of orcas before, and says she’s generally happy when the whales get to eat.

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

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