Orca
This is a female from a "Northern Resident" pod photographed off the north-east coast of Vancouver Island. In Canada and the US the term "Resident" means that the Orcas are fish-eating and tend to stay in predictable areas, where their fish prey can be found. This distinguishes them from the seal and dolphin-eating Orcas that range over a large area in search of prey. In autumn the "Northern Resident" Orcas can usually be found in Clayoquot Sound as this is where five species of Pacific salmon gather awaiting the autumn rains that will enable them to migrate to spawning grounds upriver. Usually when an Orca surfaces to breathe you only see the black topside and a bit of the white face-patch, but this one was so energetic I could see the white underside too.
Orca
This is a female from a "Northern Resident" pod photographed off the north-east coast of Vancouver Island. In Canada and the US the term "Resident" means that the Orcas are fish-eating and tend to stay in predictable areas, where their fish prey can be found. This distinguishes them from the seal and dolphin-eating Orcas that range over a large area in search of prey. In autumn the "Northern Resident" Orcas can usually be found in Clayoquot Sound as this is where five species of Pacific salmon gather awaiting the autumn rains that will enable them to migrate to spawning grounds upriver. Usually when an Orca surfaces to breathe you only see the black topside and a bit of the white face-patch, but this one was so energetic I could see the white underside too.