After seeing Shamu over the years at SeaWorld, I finally met some of his cousins in the wild. I just got back from a vacation in Alaska, and it included a whale watching trip in Juneau with some familiar looking whales.
We were expecting to see Humpbacks — and we did later — but the first whales we spotted were a small pod of Orcas, or Killer Whales. There was a group of four females and one rambunctious calf.
The Orcas didn’t seem to be hunting or feeding when we saw them. They appeared to be having a leisurely swim while perhaps letting junior burn off some energy. The little calf was having fun repeatedly splashing its tail in the water — which was far more entertaining than anything I’ve seen at SeaWorld.
In Alaska, there are three types of Orcas: Residents (fish-eaters), Transients (mammal-hunters) and Offshore (shark-eaters), according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The ones seen most are residents and transients. “These groups are genetically different and have distinct foraging and social behaviors and vocalizations,” the fish and game website notes. “Resident killer whales feed on fish, primarily salmon. They are very vocal and have sophisticated calls. Resident pods are more stable than transient pods. They often number more than 10 animals and can be as large as 50 animals.
“Transients feed on marine mammals, like sea lions. Because marine mammals can hear echolocation sounds and whale vocalizations, transient killer whales tend to be very quiet and usually vocalize only after making a kill. Transients live in small dynamic pods of three to seven animals.”
So did we see resident or transient Orcas? I don’t know for sure, but I know it was fun watching them.
