Some whale researchers spend their entire careers studying the habits of the same group of killer whales. Frank and Andy, two researchers who live conveniently close to the lodge, explained to us that orcas travel in pods. The "
residents", or those that live in big communities, only eat fish. The "
transients", eat larger fish, seals, and other marine animals. They are the ones known to be more aloof, traveling from California to Alaska in groups of only 2 to 6. Not knowing the difference between the two, we weren't about to jump off the boat and find out whether we might be on the menu as well. It also helped that the water was only 40 degrees!
You can tell the whale's gender by the size of its dorsal fin. This guy was huge (not to mention pretty close to the boat)!
These three were swimming right for us but kept a safe distance off our stern. They reminded us of space shuttles in synchronized flight.
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