Bremer Canyon Orca catalog continues to develop onboard each of our Orca tours as we had the opportunity this past week to spend time with pods who are not regularly sighted. The population of Orca that call this stretch of coastline home is numbered between 150-300 individuals. Every season we have a number of family pods that we sight on a regular basis, other family pods who are only sighted a handful of times each season and some family pods who have only been sighted once every few years! It is always a great opportunity each day to document which families we are interacting with and today we were excited to see Hermes and her family pod.
A beautiful morning and warm breeze guided us to The Patch and on arrival two squid slicks were sighted as the shimmering oil spread over the oceans surface. Looking carefully we could observe Shearwaters and Albatross gathering and another slick starting to form as the Orca surfaced alongside, breakfast had been served. Carrying a small amount of squid in her mouth we could see Hermes and her family members enjoying their meal that wasn’t overly large but after consecutive kills it was more than enough for brekkie. The family was relaxed, curious and calm throughout our interaction which provided perfect ID collection opportunities as Jade and Marine Scientist Josh worked throughout the day with cameras busy. DC has grown so much and was sighted as a new-born back in 2018, DC was proudly named after a wonderful man named Doug Coughran. It is incredible to watch calves grow and develop, building skills as they become an important member of the family pod. The Bremer Canyon Orca catalog will continue to grow as more calves are born and added along with the addition of adults occasionally who have not yet been observed due to the wonderful size of this Orca population.
