Orca

A southern resident killer whale. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Wise.

B.C. study finds endangered southern resident killer whales aren’t getting enough to eat

UBC researchers find the orcas haven’t been eating enough since 2018, sea lions partly to blame

 

A new calf was discovered in J-pod on March 1. Researchers have since determined it’s a girl. (Courtesy Center for Whale Research)

J-pod’s newest member is a girl

Whale research centre identifies sex of orca calf

 

A screenshot from a YouTube video shot by John Goodell appears to show a very young calf (second from left) swimming alongside members of the southern resident killer whale’s K-pod. (John Goodell/YouTube)

VIDEO: First calf in a decade spotted swimming with K-pod off Oregon coast

YouTube video shows young calf swimming alongside southern resident killer whales

 

Five orcas went for a swim near some docked boats in the Comox Marina April 17. Photo by Nicky Smiley/Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings

Video: Orcas swimming in Comox Marina

Five orcas gave those at the Comox Marina an extra special Easter Sunday

Five orcas went for a swim near some docked boats in the Comox Marina April 17. Photo by Nicky Smiley/Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings
A J Pod calf, born Sept. 24, 2020 surfaces next to mother J41. (Talia Goodyear/Orca Spirit Adventures/Pacific Whale Watch Association)

B.C. whale-watching guide fined $10,000 for disturbing killer whales

Charges stem from May 2019 incident near Willow Point in Campbell River

  • Oct 21, 2021
A J Pod calf, born Sept. 24, 2020 surfaces next to mother J41. (Talia Goodyear/Orca Spirit Adventures/Pacific Whale Watch Association)
L47 (Marina) pictured with her youngest male offspring, L115 (Mystic) in 2011. (Courtesy of the Center for Whale Research)

Southern resident killer whale grandma, 47, missing and likely dead: researchers

47-year-old orca Marina leaves three surviving offspring, two in next generation

L47 (Marina) pictured with her youngest male offspring, L115 (Mystic) in 2011. (Courtesy of the Center for Whale Research)
Pregnant southern resident orca J-pod member J36 (Alki) is seen in drone photos (SR3)

J-Pod is expecting: 3 endangered southern resident whales pregnant, researchers say

Drone shots from U.S. researchers reveal three swimming moms-to-be

Pregnant southern resident orca J-pod member J36 (Alki) is seen in drone photos (SR3)
Photographed is southern resident killer whale K33, Tika, as it breaches off of San Juan Island on July 27. (Photo courtesy of the Orca Bahavior Institute)

Researchers celebrate orcas’ return after ‘unprecedented absence’ from southern Vancouver Island waters

J Pod, other southern resident killer whales spotted off San Juan Island

Photographed is southern resident killer whale K33, Tika, as it breaches off of San Juan Island on July 27. (Photo courtesy of the Orca Bahavior Institute)
A pod of orcas joined the 7 Generation Steward Society at the Tyee Spit singing in memorial for the 215 children found in Kamloops. Photo courtesy Cory Cliffe

VIDEO: Whales appear during Indigenous ceremony for 215 children in Campbell River

‘Our ancestors wouldn’t appear if we weren’t doing things in a good way’ — Cory Cliffe

A pod of orcas joined the 7 Generation Steward Society at the Tyee Spit singing in memorial for the 215 children found in Kamloops. Photo courtesy Cory Cliffe
Killer whales surface near Sebastion Beach in Lantzville on Sunday, April 11. (Photos courtesy Ella Smiley)

Chainsaw and friends near the beach thrill orca watchers in Lantzville

Jagged-finned orca named Chainsaw and 17 others spent hours off Sebastion Beach this weekend

Killer whales surface near Sebastion Beach in Lantzville on Sunday, April 11. (Photos courtesy Ella Smiley)
Whale watchers spotted a rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ in the Haro Strait March 29. (Photo by April Ryan, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching/PWWA)

VIDEO: Rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ spotted off Victoria’s coast

Chainsaw is known for his jagged dorsal fin

Whale watchers spotted a rarely seen orca known as ‘Chainsaw’ in the Haro Strait March 29. (Photo by April Ryan, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching/PWWA)
Southern resident orca calf J58, born to mother J41 in September 2020, is confirmed to be a female. (Photo by Jeanne Hyde/Center for Whale Research)

It’s a girl: Gender revealed of second orca calf born to J Pod last fall

Six-month-old southern resident orca J58 photographed from shore March 6

Southern resident orca calf J58, born to mother J41 in September 2020, is confirmed to be a female. (Photo by Jeanne Hyde/Center for Whale Research)
Two transient orcas were spotted near the shores of Esquimalt Monday afternoon. (Miller Fernandez/Facebook video)

VIDEO: Orcas spotted close to shore in Esquimalt

Transient brothers give Greater Victoria residents a show

Two transient orcas were spotted near the shores of Esquimalt Monday afternoon. (Miller Fernandez/Facebook video)
Lone orca from a pod that made its way north from Georgia Strait and into Discovery Passage on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Photo by Ella Smiley/<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Comoxvalleywildlifesightings/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings </a>

Island wildlife viewers thrilled by close view of passing Orca pod

Group gives wildlife photographers a classic opportunity to view them off Campbell River shoreline

Lone orca from a pod that made its way north from Georgia Strait and into Discovery Passage on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Photo by Ella Smiley/<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Comoxvalleywildlifesightings/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings </a>
Stand-up paddleboarder Christie Jamieson kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Nora O’Malley photo)

UPDATED: Vancouver Island paddle boarder’s orca encounter brings joy and outrage

Woman’s ‘best day’ criticized for disturbing the whales

Stand-up paddleboarder Christie Jamieson kneels as a pod of transient orcas put on a dramatic show on Jan. 19 in the Ucluelet Harbour. (Nora O’Malley photo)
Midsummer (A69) with her days-old baby Ne’nakw, entering the Broughton Archipelago via Fife Sound. (Jared Towers photo)

First orca baby of the year in B.C. named Ne’nakw

Mom and baby looked healthy when spotted this week off northern Vancouver Island

Midsummer (A69) with her days-old baby Ne’nakw, entering the Broughton Archipelago via Fife Sound. (Jared Towers photo)
12-year-old Ella Smiley captured some video of orcas on a sea lion hunt on Nov. 28 at Kitty Coleman Park, just north of Courtenay. Photo by Ella Smiley

VIDEO: Orcas hunt sea lion near Vancouver Island shoreline

Twelve-year-old Ella Smiley, of Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings, caught up with a…

12-year-old Ella Smiley captured some video of orcas on a sea lion hunt on Nov. 28 at Kitty Coleman Park, just north of Courtenay. Photo by Ella Smiley
New calf, J57, with mom, J35. J35 made international headlines two years ago, when her last calf died shortly after birth and she carried the young whale’s carcass with her for 17 days. Photo by Katie Jones, Center for Whale Research

VIDEO: Superpod of orcas congregate near Vancouver Island

All three Southern Resident killer whale pods (J, K, and L) came together in the same area

New calf, J57, with mom, J35. J35 made international headlines two years ago, when her last calf died shortly after birth and she carried the young whale’s carcass with her for 17 days. Photo by Katie Jones, Center for Whale Research
J47 (left to right), mother J35 and new baby orca J57 were spotted in the Salish Sea on Saturday, Sept. 5. (Sarah McCullagh photo)

‘I definitely cried’: Mother orca that carried her dead calf for 17 days gives birth again

Baby J57 spotted in B.C. waters on Saturday

J47 (left to right), mother J35 and new baby orca J57 were spotted in the Salish Sea on Saturday, Sept. 5. (Sarah McCullagh photo)
Owner Paul Pudwell caught a sight of Tl’uk, the rare white killer whale off Sooke waters in the Juan de Fuca Strait on Tuesday, Aug. 26. (Facebook/Sooke Coastal Explorations)

Rare white orca spotted off Vancouver Island two weeks after hunting in Alaska

Tl’uk, whose Coast Salish name means Moon, is back in B.C. waters

Owner Paul Pudwell caught a sight of Tl’uk, the rare white killer whale off Sooke waters in the Juan de Fuca Strait on Tuesday, Aug. 26. (Facebook/Sooke Coastal Explorations)