Whale Watching

Killer whales or Orcas, are the largest members of the dolphin family. Male orcas can reach up to 30 feet in length, and their large, distinctive dorsal fins can be nearly 6 feet (two meters) tall. A large male can weigh up to 9 tons.

There are three different populations of orcas encountered along the West coast of North America. These three groups are genetically distinct and do not interact socially - in fact, observed behaviors indicate that they normally avoid contact with each other. The three different populations are referred to as residents, transients and offshores.

The population is comprised of extended family groups of orcas. These clans have established territories and fairly predictable patterns of movement within those territories travelling in pods and sub-pods. A large pod of 90 resident orcas can be found near Victoria from April through October with the occasional group of transients spotted. In the winter months Humpbacks and Grays can be seen in this area.

Transients have neither established territories nor predictable patterns of movement. They swim in small groups of two to five or six, usually in close physical proximity. Researchers have recently had several encounters with the third known West Coast orca population, the offshores. These whales have been encountered primarily in the open ocean, and in large groups of 30 to 60.

A major whale migration occurs in March and April off the west coast of Vancouver Island, when approximately 20,000 Pacific grey whales leave the Baja Pennisula in Mexico to journey north to Alaska, cruising past Vancouver Island enroute. There is another mass migration in the fall when the whales travel back south from Alaska to the Baja.

There are many whale watching tour companies that can take you out for a three hour tour on the ocean.