October 9th - Transient orca in the Saanich Inlet

Our boats Keta, Kula, and Cascadia headed south into the Gulf Islands around noon on the 9th in search of humpbacks or orcas. We heard land based report of killer whales in the Saanich Inlet so we all pointed our noses that way and scanned for other animals all the way down. After a hour or two of traveling we found orca!

A family pod of transient orca called the T018s were traveling slowly north. There are 4 whales in this pod, and like most orca pods that you encounter in the wild, this one was led by the oldest female, the matriarch. For the longest time people thought that it was the largest male in the pod who would be in charge, but actually it is the much smaller, older female!

Killer whales are extremely family oriented and spend most of their lives traveling close to their family. Occasionally pods will meet up with each other to hunt and socialize, and that’s when mating might also occur. So we never quite know who the dads are in killer whale world, unless genetic testing has been done!

On our return journey we stopped at various haul outs to view harbour seals and the much larger sea lion cousins. Over all it was a fantastic day on the water full of wildlife!

Here are some of the best photos taken by our marine naturalists during the tours.

Jilann LechnerOctober 13, 2021Comment