What do Bremer Bay Orca eat? Today showcased one of the types of prey the Orca eat as Alki and her pod successfully captured a Beaked Whale, despite the interruption caused by the Pilot Whales during their feeding. The diet of our Bremer Bay Orca includes fish, squid, Beaked Whale and baleen whales including Blue Whales and Minke Whales. Our journey to the sighting grounds was a unique one as we were surrounded by a cosy mist that escorted us all the way to the shelf before clearing. The surge was on from the moment we arrived and it was clear the Orca were busy looking for their next meal and the behaviour observed was very clearly Beaked Whale mode. Sure enough the hunt went to the next level as the family closed in on the poor Beaked Whale who didn’t have much of a chance to escape and as it was only a juvenile the Orca closed in quickly.
Nicki and Slater were absolutely flying as they porpoised alongside us, launching completely airborne to move as quickly as possible to close in on the family who had control of the Beaked Whale. The family gathered to feed and had only just started to share their meal when Queen arrived on scene with her family to check in on how the hunt had unfolded, a special moment was sighted when matriarchs Queen and Alki swam side by side with Flapper as deep discussions seemed to be taking place. A small amount was shared with Queen but she regrouped her family with powerful tail slaps and moved off allowing Alki and her family to continue the rest of their meal in peace. It was amazing to witness as we were now welcomed into the family meal as they shared food and excitedly showed off their success to us.
Tearing food apart is not easy and today they worked as a team with Grace taking a large amount of meat. Trying to throw it around to tear off a small bit, she succeeded by lifting it above the waters surface before Nani came over to help out. Feeding went on for a long time at a leisurely pace but when things started to speed up we could clearly see why, the Pilot Whales were charging towards the Orca! Interrupting their feeding it was lucky that Alki and the family had finished up their meal. Surrounding us, we had Pilot Whales all around and watched as the Orca regrouped and moved quietly away as we took the opportunity to spend some time with the cheeky Pilots. We were then able to regroup with the Orca and enjoy some travel time as the youngsters raced after each other with the energy and enthusiasm still high after a very successful morning and the weather change on its way. It was an incredible day to witness an Orca hunt take place and the unique dynamics between these apex predators and the very confident Pilot Whales.
