South Coast Orca are keeping busy in the waters off Bremer Bay as Queen and the family kept busy today with foraging, a powerful surge to the west and social time! Greeting us on our arrival, it was clear to see the Orca were busy as they worked hard in The Patch for breakfast. The call went out and it was time to surge as they raced to the west with whitewater flying making for a spectacular scene. Eventually it was time to regroup as Queen gathered the family and we all moved together back up towards The Patch. Arriving in the area we could see the Orca reach an older oil slick which was being visited by many Shearwaters, Albatross and Storm Petrels who were clearly very hungry.
The family then decided it was time for some fun after all that hard work as they gathered around us and began to socialise and play together. The adults mingled while the calves wrestled and surfed the swell, showing off their agility and speed. It was great to see matriarch Queen relaxing and enjoying herself as a rare moment of socialising kept her from the usual forage mode. It is a big responsibility to be the leader of a family pod and the pressure is on Queen to make the right decisions to put her family in the right spot at the right time to secure food consistently. After some playtime it was then back to forage mode as they spread out once again to resume hunting duties. Sightings of a cheeky Fur Seal and stealthy Hammerhead Shark were further highlights to a special day with the south coast Orca.
