It was one of those quiet days when nothing seems to be happening on the ocean. It was calm but there were hardly any boats around and only a seagull or two made their presence known.
I was exploring in my little boat, Snoopy, which is my favourite thing to do during summer in BC. My destination was the north end of Cortes Island where I explored all the little bays and inlets, but I hadn’t seen any wildlife.
It happens sometimes. I’ll be on my way home wondering where the wildlife went when suddenly everything changes and “no wildlife” turns into “a lot of wildlife” right under my nose.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bunch of seals on the rocks. Ordinarily I might have just zipped right by, but since I hadn’t seen anything that day, I thought I would take a closer look.
Soon, I realized I wasn’t the only one to notice the seals. There were Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, nearby!
What happened next was a remarkable sight to see. A pod of transient Orcas hunting the seals. I only know they were transients since they were hunting, and eating, the seals. The resident Orcas only eat fish.
What they do is work together to create a big wave that washes a seal off the rocks and then bingo — lunch.
I was quite astonished that I could easily see the fear in the eyes of the seals as they tried to shuffle themselves further up the rocks!
Look how close the OrcasĀ get to the rocks!
I made all these photos while driving my boat, Snoopy. I try my best to position my boat so the current won’t take me into the rocks and then I put it in neutral and start photographing.
I was not nearly as close as it seems in these photos. I was using a 400mm lens on a Canon 7D, which is a crop sensor camera, giving me an equivalent focal length of around 600mm. Then the photos were cropped in post processing (some more than others depending on how far away I was). I was at least 100 meters away at all times – those are the rules.
After a few seals met their maker the Orcas moved on and so did I after another incredible day of whale watching in British Columbia.
Great , exciting photos Anne, but I do hate to see hunting although we all have to eat. Crafty whales!
Hi Elizabeth, I know what you mean, but I guess it’s the cycle of life. Thanks for your visit and comments.
What excellent photos of the whales and terrified seals. The Orcas are very intelligent animals! That takes planning and jointly acting on that plan. Very interesting animals!
Great story Anne.
Thanks Sharon, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your visit and comments!
Incredible experience! Me, my camera, my boat — we would all be at the bottom of the sea!! Kuddos for keeping your cool and even though I know what they eat, thank you for omitting that part!! Color me green!!
Hi Vickie, yeah, I just kind of look the other way when they’ve made a kill. I don’t want to see it either. The hunt was a fascinating thing to watch though. Thanks for your comments!
What wonderful photos, I live in campbell River now and have yet to see any whales, Just keep hoping !!!
Hi Wynn, If you go out to the spit you might see them there, or even at the pier. There are often humpbacks between the pier and the lighthouse (although they are often harder to see than Orcas). Have you considered going on one of the whale watching tours? They are well worth it! Their fast boats mean that they almost always see the whales. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Wonderful series Anne. Shows life in the animal world and just how hard it really is. You’ve captured it beautifully. Here I am, a Salmon fisherman who dislikes sea lions very much (have seen plenty of fishermen and women loose their hard fought battle with a salmon right at the net to a sea lion), and I’m having some empathy for the fearful sea lions. Captured perfectly. Say Hi to Ray for me!
Hi Joe! Thank you so much I really appreciate it. I know what you mean about fishermen disliking the seals and sea lions because I come from a fishing family. My Dad was a commercial fisherman for 65 years and my brother and nephews still are (although they fish for crabs now). Ray says hi back š
Oh, that’s amazing! And great pictures, too!
Much appreciated Kathy!
Amazing set, Anne!
Thank you very much Jackson! I’m excited to hear about the early flowers in Death Valley! I’m hoping to make may way there in a month or so. Hope I wont be too late.
We were down there again this weekend, flowers are going strong and getting even better. I’m hoping in a month the bloom will just have moved higher and still be awesome (personally, I’m hoping to have some flowers further from the roads, more in the backcountry). If you have any flexibility to come out sooner, though, I’d say it’s definitely worth rearranging some plans, especially since you seem to be pretty nearby. I have high hopes for winter to return with some more rain, but you never know, a couple more weeks of dry heat could put a damper on things.
Great pictures.
wildlife is sometimes very hard to see .
For a long time i’ll remember the eyes of the seals.
Michel
Thank you very much Michel, I’m going to remember those eyes for a long time too!
These are a wonderful series, Anne, capturing the parts of this amazing event for us to see! Can’t imagine how you could have stabilized the camera enough from a boat – and while steering – to get the sharpness you did, and at that focal length! Did you use a very high ISO to allow for a very fast shutter speed? What an exciting wonderful experience that had to have been for you!
Hi Priscilla, great to see you here! Yes, exactly, I used ISOs between 1250 and 2000 for these photos, which allowed me a very fast shutter speed. I try to keep it around 1/1,000 second. It was pretty exciting! I never tire of watching the Orcas. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Right moment right place. Beautiful….. and thanks sharing with us yourwildlife stories !
Thank you for your comments Marjeta, much appreciated!
Great story, great pics! Thank you!
Much appreciated Suzanne!
Hi Anne- I enjoyed your photos and story. Snoopy, huh? That’s a great name for a small boat. If we eventually get an RV- I would love to be up in that area for awhile.
Hi Jess, I’m glad you enjoyed the story. BC is an incredibly beautiful part of the world, especially in summer. I love my Snoopy, we get to explore all around the little islands here. I highly recommend RVing here. There is a lot to see on the island (Vancouver Island) as well as the rest of BC. I’m planning on doing more exploring in BC myself in the future. Thanks for taking the time to comment!