The day whale watching means we travel to the area of Johnstone Strait near Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island BC. The resident, salmon eating orca, arrive in early late June and stay through October while the transient, mammal eating orca are in the area all year. Confused? The first serious study of the orca populations in the mid-1970’s started as a summer study so when the scientist arrived in July and left in September the orca were always in the area and therefore there named resident orca. Little did they know that this was a summer feeding area as the orca followed the salmon? The transient orcas, which were in the area, spend more time in the remote inlets in the summer because there was more boat traffic. The transient orca still travel through our viewing area in the summer but this photo is of a resident as determined by the size and shape of its dorsal fin, taller and narrower at the base. Photo provide by guest Alferd Bittner.
…we were sitting in Blackney Pass and had lost contact with the orca. They had been diving and changing direction for close to half an hour when they surfaced very close to our boat. As a guide luck often trumps skill.