A Curious Killer Whale

A curious Killer Whale approached us today with her family and this cutie is a very special Orca as she is not yet catalogued which adds another new Orca to the population currently identified. A hushed start to the morning as a thick fog settled over the town of Bremer Bay and the misty conditions enveloped the Steep Point as our lovely vessel made her way towards the jetty to greet Pod Members soon to arrive. A morning breeze helped to clear the mist and shortly after arriving in The Patch the call went out, Orca were straight ahead! The family pod surfaced and we were excited to observe individuals we haven’t had the opportunity to interact with frequently this season. Approaching curiously, they seemed pleased to see us as they greeted us before regrouping back together again. A second pod moved past as Stevie and her family moved out to the heart of The Patch and the first family we met with continued to relax very close to us, this lovely pod was sleeping. Grouped tightly together and moving no more than a few meters each re-surfacing, the family was completely relaxed and recognising some of the females we could confirm that they had been observed during the Blue Whale Hunt back on Tuesday. Such a significant hunt will result in very content Orca who will still continue to forage but the food requirements is now slightly lessoned for a few days and smaller meals will do just fine.

It didn’t stop the family from foraging though and after their morning sleep it was time to look for brunch as they continued on their way. During the afternoon they were successful as a small oil slick formed on the surface after a foraging dive, a smallish squid appeared to have been the target. During this time a curious Killer Whale began to approach us over and over again as her flash of black and white shone through the blue ocean below. Completely fascinated, she would roll to her side and all the way over as she was completely belly up in her efforts to get a better view of everyone. It was wonderful fun as she would sneak from one side of our vessel to the other, keeping us on our toes as she would be looking back up and waiting for everyone to follow her around. Orca are incredibly intelligent and as she got to know us better her confidence grew and she continued to approach a bit closer each and every time. It was exciting to confirm that this special young Orca is not yet in the catalogue but now will be a new addition, a very important day in identification research today. The sun was well and truely shining now as we made our way back towards the Bremer Bay Boat Harbour with sunshine and champagne on a beautiful afternoon.