What better way to start your weekend than with a confirmed sighting of orcas within the reach of a whale watch tour? Today we left the dock and headed north to the Canadian Gulf Islands to watch some transient killer whales that were reported swimming around that area.
We made a beeline for their last reported location, just off Saturna and the Pender Islands in British Columbia. We arrived on scene to a bunch of splashing, fins, and flukes – we were in the midst of watching transient killer whales make a kill!
Transient killer whales eat exclusively marine mammals, with 60% of their diet consisting of harbor seals alone. Because their prey is very perceptive, we don’t see splashy (read: loud) behavior unless they’re confident about their prospects of making a kill, killing something, or celebrating post-kill. Today we observed the latter two of these activities; first watching four individuals huddled together with white flukes and eye patches popping above the surface of the water as the kill was finishing up, then watching tail breaches and slaps sporadically occur as they moved away from the kill site.
We matched their speed and direction as they hugged the shoreline and moved westward before slowly moving away from them and making our way back towards the states. On our return home we took a different route through John’s Pass and the north side of Spieden to catch some glimpses of bald eagles and hauled-out harbor seals enjoying the cooler overcast day.