Killer whales of Sea Lion Island
Behaviour
Killer whales have a complex general, social, and hunting behaviour. They use many different behavioural modules and action patters. There is no established killer whale ethogram (= description of the behavioural repertoire). Therefore, one of our first goals was to describe the ethogram of Sea Lion Island killer whales. The following is a sample of the the behaviours that we observed.
Patrolling, very close to the coastline (flat rocks).
Tossing of a weaned elephant seal pup during a predation attempt.
Sinking of a weaned elephant seal pup during a predation attempt.
Tail slapping by a large adult male.