Killer Whales

Bigg’s orcas identified by Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings as T049A1, T124s and T090s were spotted hunting off Point Holmes and Kye Bay earlier this year. (File photo by Ella Smiley/Comox Valley Wildlife sightings)

‘Bigg’ month for orca sightings off Vancouver Island

With 2 months still to go, 2023 already setting record for Bigg’s sightings in a year

 

In this photo provided by biologist and wildlife advocate Kersti Muul, people watch a whale swimming by a Seattle’s Lincoln Park, on April, 2021. Muul created a Salish Wildlife Watch, a WhatsApp group chat that alerts people to when whales are in the area, prompting many people to race to shorelines to try to catch a glimpse of the giant marine mammals. (Kersti Muul via AP)

In Seattle, phones ding. Killer whales could be close.

Salish Wildlife Watch, a WhatsApp group chat, alerts its 1,800 members when orcas are near

 

Campbell River’s Discovery Pier, Friday, July 14, 2023. Photo by Alistair Taylor/Campbell River Mirror

VIDEO: Pod of orcas, including calves, swarm Vancouver Island pier

A group of people who got the thrill of a lifetime July 10

 

Bigg’s Killer Whales, more commonly seen off B.C. shores, are recorded in a hunting and feeding frenzy in the waters off California. (evanb_ocean for the California Killer Whale Project/Instagram)

VIDEO: B.C. Bigg’s whales spotted in hunting frenzy in California waters

Bigg’s whales recorded and shared online by the California Killer Whale Project

Bigg’s Killer Whales, more commonly seen off B.C. shores, are recorded in a hunting and feeding frenzy in the waters off California. (evanb_ocean for the California Killer Whale Project/Instagram)
A deer swims alongside a Bigg’s whale, identified as T124C and called Cooper, in the waters east of Vancouver Island. (Sam Murphy/Island Adventures)

Whale of a tale: Deer evades being eaten by orca off San Juan Islands

Bigg’s whales feed on marine mammals such seals, sea lions and porpoises

A deer swims alongside a Bigg’s whale, identified as T124C and called Cooper, in the waters east of Vancouver Island. (Sam Murphy/Island Adventures)
A pod of orcas surfaces in Chatham Sound near Prince Rupert, B.C., Friday, June 22, 2018. Researchers say British Columbia’s southern resident killer whales are not only threatened by the decline of the general salmon population but also the reduction in high-quality fatty salmon, the whales’ preferred meal. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward

B.C. study links killer whale decline to lack of energy-rich fatty salmon

UBC scientists find that all salmon are not created equal when it comes to being a food source

A pod of orcas surfaces in Chatham Sound near Prince Rupert, B.C., Friday, June 22, 2018. Researchers say British Columbia’s southern resident killer whales are not only threatened by the decline of the general salmon population but also the reduction in high-quality fatty salmon, the whales’ preferred meal. THE CANADIAN PRESS Jonathan Hayward
An orca is shown breaching near Brockton Point in Stanley Park in Vancouver on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.The image was caught by wildlife photographer Frank Lin while he was surveying for seabirds with a volunteer team. Scientists say orca pods are appearing in urban waters in higher frequency with harbour seals - one of the orcas’ primary food sources - congregating near cities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Frank Lin, @fylegend21 on Instagram

Bird photographer captures stunning image of an orca in flight off Stanley Park

Observers say the appearance of transient orcas near Vancouver will become more frequent

An orca is shown breaching near Brockton Point in Stanley Park in Vancouver on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.The image was caught by wildlife photographer Frank Lin while he was surveying for seabirds with a volunteer team. Scientists say orca pods are appearing in urban waters in higher frequency with harbour seals - one of the orcas’ primary food sources - congregating near cities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Frank Lin, @fylegend21 on Instagram
Killer whales often come and visit Neroutsos Inlet near Port Alice. (Regan Hickling photo)

Eyewitnesses report rare killer whale attack on a humpback in Quatsino Sound

Researcher: about 60 whale-on-whale interactions on record, none resulting in a confirmed death

  • Feb 2, 2023
Killer whales often come and visit Neroutsos Inlet near Port Alice. (Regan Hickling photo)
A Bigg’s killer whale preys on a minke whale in the waters off Washington State’s Smith Island in October 2022. (Courtesy of the Pacific Whale Watch Association)

278 days of killer whale sightings last year in the Salish Sea

Agencies document 1,066 protective interventions by whale-watching crews in 2022

A Bigg’s killer whale preys on a minke whale in the waters off Washington State’s Smith Island in October 2022. (Courtesy of the Pacific Whale Watch Association)
Blake and Morgan Belton had some surprise visitors as they exchanged their wedding vows on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy With Love Photography

Orca pod crashes Quadra Island wedding

‘That’s a pretty good good way to start your marriage off’ — wedding videographer

Blake and Morgan Belton had some surprise visitors as they exchanged their wedding vows on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy With Love Photography
A Bigg’s (transient) killer whale preys on a minke whale in the waters off Washington State’s Smith Island on Oct. 7. (Courtesy of the Pacific Whale Watch Association)

Transient orcas team up to hunt minke whale near Victoria

Whale watch group says the adult minke likely among the local seasonal population

A Bigg’s (transient) killer whale preys on a minke whale in the waters off Washington State’s Smith Island on Oct. 7. (Courtesy of the Pacific Whale Watch Association)
A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research

Researchers name newest baby orca spotted off Vancouver Island

K45 is K Pod’s first baby since 2011

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research
A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research

Researchers name newest baby orca spotted in B.C. waters

K45 is K Pod’s first baby since 2011

A young southern resident killer whale (left), shown in a handout photo, spotted swimming in the waters off the west side of Vancouver Island now has a name. The Center for Whale Research based in Washington state says it has dubbed the latest addition to K Pod as K45 after staff spotted it in a tight group with other family members northeast of Race Rocks on Saturday. CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Centre for Whale Research
A southern resident killer whale. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Wise.

B.C. study finds endangered southern resident killer whales aren’t getting enough to eat

UBC researchers find the orcas haven’t been eating enough since 2018, sea lions partly to blame

A southern resident killer whale. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Wise.
An orca hunts a seal near Campbell River. Photos by Sheree Adams

Orca hunting seals near Campbell River ‘once in a lifetime event’ for photographer

Wildlife photographers heard of whales travelling north through social media

An orca hunts a seal near Campbell River. Photos by Sheree Adams
Measures have returned to protect southern resident killer whales in B.C. waters. (Black Press Media file photo)

Added measures return to protect B.C.’s southern resident killer whales

Transport Canada has announced a host of actions

Measures have returned to protect southern resident killer whales in B.C. waters. (Black Press Media file photo)
T63 Chainsaw was one of the Bigg’s killer whales spotted in large clusters Thursday. Chainsaw is known for its jagged dorsal fin. (Photo courtesy Valerie Messier/Pacific Whale Watch Association; video courtesy of Maxx Kinert)

VIDEO: New record, Victoria expert says 72 whales spotted the most in one day

Clusters seen between Hood Canal in Puget Sound, Campbell River on Vancouver Island

T63 Chainsaw was one of the Bigg’s killer whales spotted in large clusters Thursday. Chainsaw is known for its jagged dorsal fin. (Photo courtesy Valerie Messier/Pacific Whale Watch Association; video courtesy of Maxx Kinert)
T63 Chainsaw was one of the Bigg’s killer whales spotted in large clusters Thursday. Chainsaw is known for its jagged dorsal fin. (Photo courtesy Valerie Messier/Pacific Whale Watch Association; video courtesy of Maxx Kinert)

VIDEO: New record, Victoria expert says 72 whales spotted the most in one day

Clusters seen between Hood Canal in Puget Sound, Campbell River on Vancouver Island

T63 Chainsaw was one of the Bigg’s killer whales spotted in large clusters Thursday. Chainsaw is known for its jagged dorsal fin. (Photo courtesy Valerie Messier/Pacific Whale Watch Association; video courtesy of Maxx Kinert)
Researchers aboard the vessel Noctiluca monitor southern resident killer whale behavior. (Photo courtesy of Northwest Fisheries Science Center/North Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries)

U.S.-based review emphasizes uncertain future for southern resident killer whales

Boat proximity, food source decline, pollution listed as threats to group, now numbering 73

Researchers aboard the vessel Noctiluca monitor southern resident killer whale behavior. (Photo courtesy of Northwest Fisheries Science Center/North Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries)
A stand up paddleboarder kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19, 2020 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Westerly file photo)

DFO wraps up probe into paddleboarder’s controversial 2021 Ucluelet orca encounter

After a year-long investigation, DFO has handed the file off to Crown counsel

A stand up paddleboarder kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19, 2020 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Westerly file photo)