Why are Bremer Orca thriving and how are the family pods living in this region achieving such wonderful success? The population is estimated to be nearly 300 strong and over the last decade many new calves have been welcomed with all observed surviving those first challenging few years of life. Teenagers are maturing into strong and healthy young adults while mature females are raising calves successfully and frequently. The reason behind their success is the reliable food source these Orca find along this stretch of coastline throughout the year and the isolated waters ensuring the Orca live the same lives they have always known. The prey they target is large with squid and Beaked Whale sustaining them during the summer and early autumn while baleen whales add extra calories during the long winter and spring.
The food they rely on has remained stable through this region and ensured the Orca have the protein and nutrients they need to thrive. Today was a fantastic example of just how healthy this population is as multiple family pods gathered for a big day of foraging and socialising in The Patch. Seven family pods were identified and a few of the boys from other family pods were also making the most of the big social day to flirt with the girls. It was exciting to encounter over 100 Orca today and introduce our Pod Members onboard to many of the well known and less well known individuals of the Bremer Bay Orca population. Queen’s munchkins were cheeky and excitable as usual with the little ones racing over to play around the Steep Point and checkout our stern as we waited adrift for them to finish their investigations. It is always a joy to see so many Orca but most of all to see them happy, relaxed and enjoying their time. Always a privilege to be welcomed into the world of the Orca as they allow us to spend time learning from them and understanding the secrets to their success.
You can learn more about our Bremer Bay Orca at this link
