Walking Victoria鈥檚 shoreline can be the perfect opportunity to spy on the region鈥檚 abundance of wildlife; but are you aware of what is watching you?
鈥楽pying鈥� on visitors at the Ogden Point breakwater on Wednesday afternoon (March 12) were a pod of four Bigg鈥檚 killer whales 鈥� but their presence did not go undetected for long.
As news spread of the wildlife spectacle, crowds of people gathered along the breakwater and shoreline to enjoy the free performance.
Capturing the moment on camera was Rachelle Hayden, who was on the water with whale watching tour group Prince of Whales.
Her photos show one whale close to the breakwater 鈥榮pyhopping鈥�, lifting its head vertically out of the water to better see its surroundings. This behaviour is thought to be used for curiosity, social interactions or hunting.
Another of Hayden鈥檚 snaps captures the moment a whale passes onlookers on shore, offering a friendly salute to its fans: a misty spray exhaled through its blowhole.
鈥淚 felt so happy and excited for the people on shore watching the whales so close to the shoreline,鈥� said Hayden, co-founder of the Salish Sea Orca Squad, a non-profit society dedicated to increasing awareness about orcas, most notably the critically endangered southern resident killer whales.
"It was fun watching the whales work the coastline looking for seals, chasing river otters and catching birds."
Stars of the wild water show were four transient orcas, who are known as the family group T041s. The oldest member is Lawrie, a female born before 1966.
According to the Comox Valley Wildlife Sightings group 鈥� a Facebook group that shares real-time sightings 鈥� the pod of whales stayed in the area for over three hours before heading towards San Juan Island in Washington State.
The next day, the same pod were seen at Duke Point in Nanaimo.
Visits from Bigg's killer whales to Victoria's Inner Harbour and shoreline have seemingly become more frequent in recent days. Last year, 23-year-old killer whale Noah, identified as T049A1, made a splash in the downtown harbour. Weeks before his visit, a pod of five orcas, identified as T109As, were caught on camera exploring the harbour.
Experts have explained the abundance of, could be why the predatory whales are visiting more regularly.
