Prince of Whales Whale Watching | Victoria, B.C. , Canada | Call us collect if you have any questions about our trips! (250) 383-4884 | Email US!

The resident killer whales of southern British Columbia eat only fish and squid and their favorite food in the summer is salmon. They live with their maternal families for life, so even an adult male travels with his mother and sisters for his entire life! Related families spend a lot of time together, either socializing or traveling looking for food. Groups of related families are called pods. Scientists have been studying J, K and L pods for almost 30 years now and have identified each and every whale by their natural markings. Each killer whale has a unique saddle patch on their back, just behind their fin. On board each of the Prince of Whales vessels, are photo-identification charts allowing us to identify which pod and even which individuals we are watching each day.

 

Killer whales spend a lot of time feeding; it takes a lot of fish to feed a 5 ton female killer whale and her entire family (males are estimated to weigh up to 10 tons). When feeding they often take 3 or 4 breaths at the surface then disappear underwater for sometimes up to 5 minutes (which feels a lot longer when you are waiting patiently at the surface). When they find fish they often slap their tails on the ocean surface. This is thought to frighten the fish, which then group together and the killer whales can pick out the slow ones - yummy!! When they are finished feeding, there is often time for a little play. Young killer whales are rather playful and are sometimes seen pushing pieces of kelp on their noses, sometimes they push each other around and occasionally they'll jump clear of the water. This is called breaching and is a most spectacular sight. One you'll not soon forget.

When killer whales are socializing or playing, we often hear them talking to each other. With the use of our hydrophones (underwater microphones) we can listen in on their underwater communications. Scientists are actually able to identify each different pod by the types of calls they make. Just like people, killer whales are recognizable by the way they communicate.

We are very lucky in southern British Columbia as we have a second community of killer whales, which we occasionally see on our whale watching excursions. These are known as transient killer whales. Transients eat only marine mammals and birds. From their name it sounds as if they are just passing through British Columbia, however this is not the case. The name "transient" actually dates back to the early scientific research in BC, when scientists were first starting to identify individual whales. Occasionally, they would find whales, which they didn't recognize and assumed them to be just passing through. Now we know this is an entirely different community of killer whales, which travel from the north end of Vancouver Island to the south depending on the time of year. Residents and transients, although both killer whales, act quite differently. The residents can be found in very large groups, sometimes more than 80 at a time (this is called a superpod, seen a few times each summer), whereas the transients appear to be less social and are usually found in groups of 3 to 8. Also, it is not unusual to find a transient swimming by itself. We don't really understand the dynamics of transient killer whale society. But we do know that transient killer whales do not eat fish; only marine mammals and birds. Their favorites are harbour seals, Dall's porpoise and harbour porpoise. Sometimes we see them circling seal haul out sites or chasing a porpoise but we rarely do we see them get one. This group of whales is very difficult to understand as we don't see them very often, however, it is just as exciting to see transient as it is resident killer whales.

Now it is time for a quick history lesson!

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