Killer whales are easily identified by the distinct characteristics of their dorsal fins.
Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club
Recently, a whale called “Granny” was sighted off the BC Coast, and based on her reproductive history she is estimated to be over 100 years old! Her name is Granny - an Orca or Killer Whale & a member of the dolphin family. She has been roaming the Pacific Ocean all her life. Granny is identified by the white patch on her dorsal fin alongside a half-moon-shaped notch. She is said to be the matriarch of one particular whale pod and is thought to be 103 years old. Although her age is an estimate, studies into her reproductive history have plotted her birth all the way back to 1911. The week before she was seen near Victoria BC, she was spotted in California, so she traveled over 1000 miles in under 7 days! Living along the west coast of North America is good for your health.
There are 3 main types of Orcas or Killer Whales:
Resident – These are the whales we see in the waters of the Pacific North West around Victoria & Robson Bight. Occasionally, they venture up to Rivers Inlet so we see them a few times each summer. They live in complex and cohesive family groups called pods of from 6-60 whales (estimated). These pods appear every summer in our waters, but despite decades of research, where these animals go for the rest of the year remains unknown.
Transient - Transients generally travel in small groups, usually 2-6 and feed almost exclusively on mammals such as seals and are less social than resident Orcas.
Offshore – Not discovered until 1988, when a humpback whale researcher observed them in open water. As their name suggests, they travel far from shore and feed primarily on schooling fish. However, because they have large, scarred and nicked dorsal fins resembling those of mammal-hunting transients so it may be that they also eat mammals and sharks. They have mostly been encountered off the west coast of Vancouver. Offshores typically congregate in groups of 20-70, with occasional sightings of larger groups of up to 200.