We have celebrated World Whale Day from Bremer Bay, Western Australia, for the past few days.
Orcas are truly magnificent animals and always deserve a celebration.
Yesterday, after a brief search, we found the orcas.
We were greeted with three full-body breaches by a fully grown male called Blade.
Usually, marine mammal eating orcas tend to stay silent to stay “in cover” from their prey, but yesterday morning they did not seem to care about the noise.
Soon, we found other orcas (his pod members and a few from other pods) around the male, and all of them were in an incredibly social and playful mood.
We soon discovered that a little “leftover” food was also involved. The orcas probably had a kill earlier in the morning (squid or beaked whale, not sure, to my impression, it could have been a beaked whale), and we bumped into the celebration after a kill.
The orcas chased each other, swimming upside down, and made several closer passes by the boat.
I have also witnessed one of the most beautiful tender moments as a female approached her calf (nose to nose) and shared a little piece of food with her baby. It was truly remarkable to witness.
In one of the photos, you can see the little calf’s teeth holding onto that piece of meat.
Calves were rolling over each other and their moms. It is also a sign of care and affection. Orcas have powerful family bonds, especially between females and their calves.
We stayed with them throughout the trip, and the celebration was ongoing, tail slapping racing over the boat.
It was a very memorable day, and we were happy to see orcas with full belly and happy
Today the weather was a bit windier. Orcas were in foraging mode.
They had a minor kill in the morning. We heard birds excited, even after the orcas left the scene.
We sailed towards the sound to check out the reason for such excitement. The orcas had killed a squid in the morning but only finished the tentacles and left the rest of the squid floating on the surface. That’s what was the cause of excitement for the birds. They had a huge meal today.
I am not sure why the orcas only eat the tentacles, but it was interesting to witness a giant squid on the surface. These animals live in deeper waters, so we do not often get to see them almost in full.
We wish with these photos Happy World Whale Day!
Enjoy!
-Krisztina
All photos were taken on the 18th and 19th of February, 2023, in Bremer Bay, Western Australia.
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