Vancouver wilderness adventure day tours with hotel pick-up

Orca Whales (Orcinus orca)
Best viewing time: April to October

Killer or Orca whales are not actually whales. They belong to the family of dolphins and are the largest member of that species.

Orcas can be 32 feet long, with a 6-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh 10 tons. Females can grow up to 28 feet in length, with a 3-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh up to 6 tons.

Killer whales have black bodies with white bellies, and white patches on their chin and by the eyes. They also have a gray or white saddle behind the dorsal fin.

Killer whales inhabit all oceans, but mostly occur in Arctic and Antarctic waters. They frequent coastal waters along the continental shelf, and can be found along the entire Alaskan coastline, except where pack ice excludes them because of their dorsal fin.

They mate year-round. It's believed that Orcas, like most dolphins, sometimes have sex for pleasure.
Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of 13 to 16 months. At birth, the calf measures 8 feet long and weighs 400 pounds. Male Orcas live for 30 to 50 years, and females for 50 to 70. Killer whales live within highly complex social structures. They live in family units called pods. Killer whales hunt communally, swim at speeds up to at least 28 miles per hour, and have 40 to 56 conical, interlocking teeth that curve back toward the throat.

There are three groups of whales. Resident, transient, and off-shore Orcas on outsiders. All whales communicate with clicks, whistles and pulsed calls. However, each pod has its own dialect, and resident whales' sounds are different from those of transient whales.

Resident pods are matriarchal societies. Since females live long lives - the oldest local matriarch is 92 years old - these pods often include several generations of whales.

Three pods of Residents with a total of approximately 80 whales spend every summer in these local waters south of Vancouver in search of migrating salmon. Sighting chances are 85 per cent.

The local Residents are the worlds most intensively studied Orca whales and a leading authority is Dr. Paul Spong. Visit his web site and listen to the Orcas sing.

Transients have given this species its "killer" reputation. They pray on other sea mammal, including porpoises, seals, sea lions, elephant seals and juvenile gray whales.

Little is known about the family makeup of transient pods, but scientists know a fair amount about their behavior. A pod of 8 - 12 transients roam the area around Vancouver Island but their travel pattern is unpredicable.

Transient orcas are a group of about 300 killer whales that primarily roam the California coast, but extend all the way to Southeast Alaska. Smaller pod size lets them travel far, often covering a 500 to 900 mile section of coastline.

For an in depth view at Transients' pack hunting strategies click here.

Resident Orca pods stay together for a very long time, while transient pods often change members. And the two pods apparently don't breed with one another, leading some biologists to think that the transients are a separate subspecies.

Very little is known about Off-shore Orcas since these whales rarely come in shore. In 2003 a group of 20 Outsider Orcas socialized with the local Resident pods. For a short period there were days with up to 100 whale sightings. The last time this happened was some 25 years earlier.

Toll-free: 800-528-3531 Local Phone: 604-684-4922 Email: info@lotuslandtours.com

Vancouver exclusive day trips with hotel pick-up

Orca Whales (Orcinus orca)Best viewing time: April to October

Orca Whales (Orcinus orca)
Best viewing time: April to October