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Apparently, there have been quite a few orcas in the vicinity this summer, though on a recent visit to Savary I failed to see any. They always seem to turn up just before I arrive, or just after I leave, or while I am looking in the other direction.

The last time I saw orcas in the wild was several summers ago in the channel between Port McNeill and Malcolm Island. I was on a sailboat and we were heading back to Port McNeill after a cruise through the Broughton Archipelago. Suddenly in the water ahead of us we saw the familiar dorsal fin, then another, and then they were everywhere, streaming up the passage toward us. We cut our engine and watched as they sped by, perhaps two dozen of them, pursued at a respecful distance by a posse of whale-watching boats.

Of course one expects to see orca up at the top end of Johnstone Strait, less so around Savary, though reports indicate that they are becoming more plentiful in that part of the coast, both summer and winter. A great spot to keep track of marine mammal sightings around the south coast is at http://whalesanddolphinsofbc.com.

Labels: KILLER WHALES, ORCAS, MARINE LIFE

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