Victoria, British Columbia

Orcas aren't really whales at all, they're extraordinarily large dolphins. There are three families (called "pods") of Orcas living year-round in the seas around Victoria. The pods are given letter names; the three pods currently in residence are J, K, and L. (and yes, there is an I pod, but that group doesn't hang out in the same region). There are also transient Orcas, as well as transient humpback, gray, and minke whales. On our trip we see no true whales, but we observe dozens of resident Orcas.

A pair of Orcas from the J pod.

When they first surface, they exhale explosively to clear the water from their breathing passages. Here you can see a faint mist of spray exiting the blow hole of the Orca on the left.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca, where we find the Orcas hanging out, is often windy and choppy. We luck out, with the lightest of breezes and glass-like seas.

The Orcas are so close to our boat we can hear them breathing

Foreign rabble rousing in Canada
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