Wyoming moose are afraid of wolves, but coastal moose have to be wary of killer whales

Moose are some of the biggest and baddest creatures in Wyoming, although wolves and grizzlies can wreak havoc on them, especially elk calves.

In coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, moose are facing terror on a different level – possibly being eaten by killer whales.

“The possibility of killer whales killing moose is rare, but it does occur and has been documented,” Riley Woodford, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told Cowboy State Daily.

Pack hunter

Killer whales or orcas are extremely intelligent and are at the top of the marine food chain.

They live and hunt in groups called pods, which resemble wolf packs. In areas with coastal moose populations, orca pods take advantage of moose swimming in deep water over bays or between islands.

A particularly gruesome incident occurred off the coast of Alaska in 1992.

A group of four orcas swarmed a pair of swimming moose, killing and devouring the larger moose.

The smaller moose survived the initial attack, but was so horribly mutilated that it reportedly drowned a short time later.

This incident was classified as a horrific, one-time anomaly. However, recent research suggests that, at least in some areas, orcas are eating moose more frequently than previously thought, Forbes Magazine reported this year.

Stay away from water

According to the researchers, moose apparently crave sodium in aquatic vegetation and are willing to swim to get there.

When moose cross large bodies of water like Alaska’s bays, they are at risk of being preyed upon by killer whales, Woodford said.

Not all orcas are the same, he added. A subspecies of orcas feeds primarily on fish. Most orcas in Alaska are fish eaters.

It is the roving groups of killer whales from elsewhere that seem to like red meat, such as seal or the occasional moose.

“The most likely ones are the transient killer whales that will try to kill a moose,” Woodford said.

“The kill switch has been flipped.”

Cody outdoorsman Guy Eastman has hunted, fished and seen a lot around the world.

He told Cowboy State Daily that he had never seen orcas hunting elk. But he saw them hunting humpback whales while he was fishing off the coast of Mexico.

“The kill switch has been flipped on these orcas,” said Eastman, who represents the third generation of the famed outdoor multimedia family that created Eastman’s Hunting Journal.

The adult humpback whales positioned themselves between their calves and the beach and, as far as he could see, saved their young from the killer whales, Eastman said.

But as the orcas charged at the humpback whales, they headed straight for the boat he was on, and Eastman said he was afraid “they were going to break right through the boat.”

Luckily, the orcas dove under the boat at the last second.

Given the strength and determination he saw from the orcas that day, Eastman said he had no doubt they were good at killing moose.

No resistance in the water

Wyoming wildlife photographer Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven knows the moose in Wyoming well. He frequently tracks and photographs elk in and around Grand Teton National Park, including a huge, famous bull named Hoback.

There is nothing to do with Hoback and other elk on land. But moose like Hoback ever made it to the coast, and their confidence could be their undoing, Vangoidtsenhoven said.

“I’ve heard of it (orcas hunting moose) but haven’t seen it myself,” he said. “It is not surprising that moose are strong swimmers and are not afraid to swim greater distances.

“When they do this in the ocean, they are an easy target for predators like orcas. I don’t think moose have many defenses in the water. Kicking with the front legs, their main defense on land, would be very difficult in deep water, especially against a powerful predator like an orca.”

Contact Mark Heinz at [email protected]