Orcas!

A very exciting first sighting of orcas in the season! Last Wednesday, 18th June, passengers, captain & crew on the Winter Whale Cruise were lucky to witness a pod of 5 orcas incuding 3 adults and 2 calves along the south coast of Phillip Island.

The orca pod was first sighted by one of our captains whale spotting from land. “I was about to leave Pyramid Rock after having no luck spotting a whale, then something caught my eye, something way bigger than a dolphin!” Andrew Thomas was thrilled to spot the pod, which later turned out to have 2 calves amongst them.

The pod cruised very close to shore from Pyramid Rock to Seal Rocks, thrilling all the whale enthusiasts both on the boat and on land. Surfacing frequently, the orcas delighted everyone on board with their magnificent black & white markings, powerful tails and coordinated approach.

The orcas approached Seal Rocks and seemed to be on the hunt, which did not go unnoticed by the seals on the rocks. “Most seals ensured they swiftly jumped back to the safety of the rocks” commented Georgia Bisset, marine biologist on board the cruise. Orcas are known to predate on seals, and have sophisticated hunting techniques which involves careful shared tactics within the pod.

It is not surprising to see orcas off the coast of Victoria at this time of the year, as they are following the whale migration, in search of young calves, another prey target. Humpback whales seem to be behaving a little more elusively when the orcas are around, minimising the chance of being spotted by these clever hunters.

There are a few known orca families that are spotted annually around in southeastern Australia, and images taken of this pod will contribute to important data to piece together their movements and whereabouts, helping us understand more about these fascinating marine mammals.

Thanks to the Citizen Science photographers Benjamin Eriksson and Ian Ryan for capturing these images on board.