7 Transient Orcas near Bird Rock! April 10th, 2010.

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Hyde!

Today was a very magical day on the water with 7 Transient Orcas, including T87 and T14, near Bird Rocks. We first got reports of these Orcas at 10.00am and and amazingly the Transients hardly moved from the same spot all day, they seemed to be having a feeding frenzy!

Our vessel Fastcat headed out at 2.00pm with a full load of excited passengers eager to see these magnificent apex predators and they were not to be disappointed:) Whilst on scene the crew noticed signs of kills and foraging. The prey included a Sealion, which the Orcas would have hunted cooperatively.

With the sun shining it was a wonderful day to be on the water!

WEDS, MARCH 31, 2010 Fifteen Transient Killer Whales Get Together To Hunt!!!

WEDS, MARCH 31, 2010 Fifteen Transient Killer Whales Get Together To Hunt!!!

As recently as 15 years ago if you went to a seminar or class to learn about identifying Killer Whales, you likely would have been told, "If you see more than 5 Killer Whales together you are almost certainly looking at Resident "Fish-Eating) Killer Whales because Transient (Marine-Mammal-Eating) Killer Whales rarely travel or hunt in groups of more than 5 animals".

Funny thing about watching wildlife: It keeps one very humble! For yet again, likely the 30th or more time in the last two years, we went out today and saw many Killer Whales hunting together and they were clearly Transient (Marine-Mammal-Eating) Killer Whales...

How do we know that they were "clearly Transient (Marine-Mammal-Eating) Killer Whales"? Here are the key clues:

1. They were foraging and hunting for seals and porpoise (Note the pictures where animals were swimming in different directions, triangulating around prey). Resident Killer Whales do not hunt or eat Marine Mammals;
2. Their dorsal fins are much pointier than the more rounded fins of Resident Killer Whales;
3. Their Saddle Patches (The white patch just behind the dorsal fin) are all "closed", meaning that there is no black pigment swirling or entering into the white patch; and
4. Their saddle patches extend farther forward underneath the dorsal fin.

We look forward to posting full I.D.'s of these animals once we have had a chance to properly examine these photos. Identification is done by matching dorsal fin shape, saddle patch shape, nicks, scratches and marks and comparing them to identification survey guide photos.

What will tomorrow bring?! That's what keeps us so excited to get back out there and take you with us each day!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES

Out for our second cruise of the 2010 Season, Five Star Whale Watching and our passengers entered Transient (Marine Mammal Eating) Killer Whales.

Enjoy these photos!

Transient Killer Whale photos courtesy of Ron Bates, Marine Mammal Research Group

Thursday, October 1, 2009, What a Way to Start OCTOBER!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009, What a Way to Start OCTOBER!!!

T-10 Transient "Marine-Mammal-Eating" Killer Whales, and a Humpback Whale nicknamed "Split-fin".

The Humpback was just off Victoria's waterfront.

The Transient Killer Whales traveled past Victoria heading East, went through Oak Bay and heading up past Kelp Reef in Haro Strait.

Note the large male T10A, 31 years old and (8.5m (28 feet)long, 8.5 tonnes,with a Dorsal Fin nearly 1.6m tall(nearly 6 feet)).

Also notice the notch half way up the trailing edge of the Dorsal Fin of the older female T10. She is thought to be 46 years old.

Sunday, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009, Morning Trip, Transient Killer Whales, Humpback and Sea Lions near Race Rocks!!

Sunday, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009, Morning Trip, Transient Killer Whales, Humpback and Sea Lions near Race Rocks!!

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009, Afternoon Trip, T-30 Transient Killer Whales

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009, Afternoon Trip, T-30 Transient Killer Whales

Well, well, the T-30's, those "little Dickens" that we watched this morning, turned around and retraced their path back from Port Angeles all the way North East to Eastern Bank in the middle of Juan de Fuca Strait.

After playing around and "skylarking", they got down to business and attacked an ate a Harbour Seal. We did not get a good photo of the half of the seal that they carried away to share.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009, Morning Trip, T-30 Transient Marine-Mammal-Eating Killer Whales

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009, Morning Trip, T-30 Transient Marine-Mammal-Eating Killer Whales

Early this morning we received a call from the high-speed ferry from Seattle, the Victoria Clipper, that en route to Victoria they had seen 4 Killer Whales near Eastern Bank, approximately 20 miles (32 kms) South East of Victoria. These whales were headed South East, away from us.

Over the course of 2 hours these animals travelled in excess of 10 miles (16kms)and we watched them all the way to Dunganess Spit, just East of Port Angeles, Wa.