The other day, we witnessed something extraordinary that does not happen every day/
We met a small group of pilot whales, mainly females and calves.
At the start, they were socialising and resting.
After a while, it seemed like they had started traveling and they seemed quite focused.
After 30 minutes they seriously sped up. They were doing around 10 – 11 nautical miles per hour. We kept following them on the side, parallel.
A moment later, I spotted something in the corner of my eye, further away….
At first, I thought more pilot whales were there, and there was a massive breach further away.
That is when I realised, through my viewfinder, that the animals ahead of us weren’t pilot whales; they were orcas!
Orcas seemed to be feeding as there were loads of birds circling above the surface.
I must admit that we did not have much time to observe, because as soon as the pilots reached the area, the orcas fled.
They started porpoising out of the area very fast.
First, the pilots were behind them, going after them!!
However, after a while, the pilots returned to the feeding area, but the orcas kept on going at an extremely high speed.
The whole group of orcas was porpoising together, doing over 12 nautical miles an hour! It was amazing to see them swimming so fast.
After a while, they slowed down, but they kept on swimming more slowly out of there.
Orcas are at the top of the food chain; they are apex predators without natural enemies. However, that day it surely looked like those orcas did NOT want to be near those pilots.
We have seen pilot whales harass humpback whales (twice their length) before, and it is known that pilot whales live in large groups, so they can outnumber other species.
But I have not seen anything like this before.
My assumption is that the orcas were feeding on herring, which makes it even more interesting that the pilots were interested in the herring.
Another day to remember.
By observing and spending time with these animals, we learn something new every single day
Enjoy!
-Krisztina
Photos were taken on the 31st of July and 1st of August, 2025, around Andøya.
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