“Transient Orca are meat eaters and are frequently seen preying on seal, sea lions, dolphins, porpoises and even larger whales. Transient Orca seem to come and go. As their name implies, they are transient whales and just pass through. It is unclear as to their actual territory, if they even have one. These whales have been seen coming into the inside Strait of Georgia from the top end of Vancouver Island by Cape Scott and leaving at the bottom end by Victoria. Perhaps they circumnavigate Vancouver Island as well as meander back up or down our inside passages. They are routinely seen in the inside waters of BC.” Quote from: Whales and Dolphins BC / Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs) a great site to visit to learn more about marine life on the Bc coast. More tomorrow…
Lynn Morris from the UK provides these photos showing a humpback whale diving and showing the underside of it’s tail. The unique pattern on the tail is used to identify individual whales the same as the dorsal fin and saddle patch is used to identify the orca. The lodge’s whale watching safari area of Bold Head in Blackfish Sound normally contains eight or ten humpback whales, which feed on the herring in the area. The same herring attract the salmon, which in turn are the main attraction for the orca. It is not uncommon to be watching orca and whales at the same time, remembering these are the resident or salmon eating orca.