A group of orcas were captured on video spouting off in Coal Harbour earlier this week, likely on their way to a salmon feast in the Pacific Ocean.
The videos were posted to social media on Monday, Nov. 29 and show several orcas travelling together; some appear to be calves. It is possible the orcas and calves are travelling out to more open water for the winter.
“Southern Resident killer whales spend much of the winter along the coast in the Pacific Ocean. This is because their main food source is salmon,” a Washington-based whale museum writes of the orca's migration patterns. “Since the salmon numbers decrease in the Salish Sea during the winter, resident killer whales disperse and hunt for salmon in the open North Pacific.”
Some Southern Resident pods have been seen as far south as Monterey, California and as far north as Southeast Alaska.
This is far from the first close-range visits Vancouver has had from orcas. Just a few months ago a pair of the huge dolphins were spotted swimming around boats in Horseshoe Bay and in Burrard Inlet.
