Friday, September 4, 2009 was a good day. I got to spend it on an Orca Whale Watch out of Anacortes, WA (if you look for this on a map, find Seattle and look North West from there along the coast). It was a very good day.
About an hour into the cruise we came across a pod of 25 Orcas of all sizes; large males, females and three calves. One large male is known as “Ruffles” for the ruffled appearance of his dorsal fin. He was traveling with a female Orca named “Granny” who is actually his mother and she is estimated to be 98 years old! They have confirmed sightings of this particular Orca in these waters back to 1911. Can you imagine? Really, how cool is that? I wonder about their pod dynamics based on the fact that a 98 year old Orca was leading them. She seemed to be setting the pace, so (and this is totally my theory, no scientific backing here) maybe out of respect for her they let her set the speed knowing she might not be able to go as fast? I asked this question of the naturalist on board and she said she wasn’t sure but anything was possible with these complex mammals. As much as they know about Orcas, there is still more to learn.
What I learned was a lot. Orcas are part of the dolphin family and there are several types of Orcas. The ones we saw today stay in pods their entire lives and are known as “Resident Orcas” and researchers consider them a matriarchal society. At breeding times, they look to breed within other pods but then the calves stay with the mothers or their original pods their entire life. Female Orcas are pregnant for 18 months and the calves feed from them for 8 to 9 months before being able to eat independently. But what I found even more interesting is that there are “Transient Orcas”, one of the guides on the boat likened them to “wolf packs”. They are the aggressive ones you see in National Geographic specials tossing poor little seals around (and I would guess this is where the term “Killer Whale” started) vs. the ones I saw today that primarily eat the salmon and squid that live in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. The Transient Orcas will not attack their own kind but have been known to attack other whale types and smaller dolphins. Then there are the “Offshore Orcas”, not much is known about them because they live so deep out in the oceans they are hard to find and harder to study.
Bottom line, it was so much fun to see them within 100 yards of the boat and to hear their breath puff out over and over as they surfaced and dove, surfaced and dove. It was surprising too how quick and steady their pace is as they move through the water. I heard the ship’s Captain say they’ve used speed radar to measure the Orcas speed and they can go as fast as 30 to 40 mph.
What I learned was a lot. Orcas are part of the dolphin family and there are several types of Orcas. The ones we saw today stay in pods their entire lives and are known as “Resident Orcas” and researchers consider them a matriarchal society. At breeding times, they look to breed within other pods but then the calves stay with the mothers or their original pods their entire life. Female Orcas are pregnant for 18 months and the calves feed from them for 8 to 9 months before being able to eat independently. But what I found even more interesting is that there are “Transient Orcas”, one of the guides on the boat likened them to “wolf packs”. They are the aggressive ones you see in National Geographic specials tossing poor little seals around (and I would guess this is where the term “Killer Whale” started) vs. the ones I saw today that primarily eat the salmon and squid that live in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. The Transient Orcas will not attack their own kind but have been known to attack other whale types and smaller dolphins. Then there are the “Offshore Orcas”, not much is known about them because they live so deep out in the oceans they are hard to find and harder to study.
Bottom line, it was so much fun to see them within 100 yards of the boat and to hear their breath puff out over and over as they surfaced and dove, surfaced and dove. It was surprising too how quick and steady their pace is as they move through the water. I heard the ship’s Captain say they’ve used speed radar to measure the Orcas speed and they can go as fast as 30 to 40 mph.
I included a few pictures here but go to this link for the full gallery.
And if you are ever anywhere close to this area during Orca season--go on an Orca Watch!
And if you are ever anywhere close to this area during Orca season--go on an Orca Watch!
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