Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Transient Orcas


Click on the image to see the larger version.

Fortune Channel between Meares Island and Vancouver Island. These are "transient" Orcas as opposed to "residential" Orcas. Transients travel from South America to the Arctic and will feed on mammals such as porpoises and sea lions. "Residential" Orcas do not travel as wide a range and do not feed on mammals.

Good or bad, about 30 minutes before this photo was taken we had the opportunity to witness these two whales hunt down and eat a porpoise. In spite of the brutality, the whales rammed and tossed the porpoise around before finally dragging it underwater and eating it, it was amazing to witness the whole process.

It was the first time the boat operator had witnessed Orca's hunting and killing.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great!

How close were you for this picture?

Mike said...
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Mike said...

Hi G: We were about 500-600 feet I am guessing.

Nature photography is an excellent learning experience. It's totally different from photos of buildings and ducks!

Jill said...

Oh My!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a find, what a witness, what a scene that must have been. Awesome shot of them!

Jill said...

"good or bad" Hey... it's part of nature and part of being the food chain.

Mike said...

Jill it was really wild! It turned a great trip into an unbelievable adventure! I think about it every day still!lol. Thanks!