It’s Orca season in Canada at the moment, with the some of the creatures – also known as Killer Whales – spotted on the west coast.
Sightings in recent weeks have made an extra thrill for locals and those on holidays in Vancouver and experts have predicted a successful season for whale watching.
“We’re seeing transient killer whales in larger numbers than in previous years, and all the whales that we see seem to have babies with them,” said Cathy Morimoto of Steveston Seabreeze Adventures.
Last Wednesday, a group of Killer Whales actually swam into Vancouver‘s inner harbour and were seen in the waters off of Stanley Park at Lions Gate Bridge.
Dave Pryce, a dispatcher for a local company, told the Vancouver Sun that he estimated there were eight whales in all: “It was kind of like they were walking the seawall.”
“It didn’t look like they were feeding, just goofing around and slapping their tails.”
These visits to the harbour can be rare, but are often seen in the area where the whales hunt Harbour seals. Several of the whales who ventured into the harbour were identified by a fisheries whale researcher, with one adult male having been sighted 132 times over the last twenty years.
Whale watching tours are operated through the Straits of Georgia and the San Juan islands, and typically last for three to five hours. The average cost is around $120 for adults to take part.
The Whale Watching season started on 1 April and will continue until October.
