When we arrived at the hotspot today, we were delighted to be welcomed by a handful of playful orca from Fanscar and Digby’s pods.

They were surfing in the waves until they decided to come in closer and check the boat out for themselves! Akama and Mia put on a real show for the passengers today, rolling around next to the boat and doing backflips!

Digby and Nibbles were then spotted out diving in the distance. Crew and passengers alike were gripping onto the handrails and holding onto their seats as the orcas began to surge like crazy.

This was the moment we knew we were in for a treat!

They quickly changed direction and continued surging in a group of approximately 12-15 individuals. The race was on!

The boat switched into gear and water sprayed left, right and centre. The female orcas raced ahead on the hunt, pushing their prey up onto the continental shelf in only 500 metres of water in order to prevent their catch from escaping from their grasp.

Meanwhile, Nibbles and the youngsters hung at the back of the pack, surging in tandem with the boat. To see a nine tonne animal leaping through the air on the hunt for food was such an incredible sight to behold!

The powerful surging eventually slowed, and a large oil slick appeared on the surface in front of the bow. Numerous orca began to surface, some with chunks of meat in their mouths.

One of the orcas brought the head of their catch up to the surface, where we noticed the beak attached to the skull that was skinned with the brain fully on display. Inflated lungs were also brought to the surface, and it was apparent that the pod had successfully hunted a beaked whale, one of their favourite sources of food, while also providing passengers and crew with an in depth anatomy lesson. In a day, an orca can eat anywhere up to 250 kilograms of food, or 5% of their body weight…so it came as no surprise that they were on the hunt for their lunch.

As the food was distributed amongst the pod and everyone’s bellies were filled, some of the orcas gained their confidence and trailed in closer to the boat. Nibbles, Fanscar, Razor and Little Blade were seen surfacing approximately 30 metres from the boat and were even doing little spyhops and roly-polys to impress us all!

Today truly was an unforgettable day in the canyon!

-Naturaliste Charters

This post was adapted from a blog, read more here.