Caught on cam: Orcas delight BC Ferries passengers sailing between Vancouver and Victoria
A family of transient orcas put on a show for passengers aboard a large BC Ferries vessel this weekend.
Video of the encounter shows at least six transient orcas swimming in Active Pass near a BC Ferries vessel sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen on Sunday afternoon.
Rachelle Hayden, a marine naturalist with environmental group Salish Sea Orca Squad, recorded the video while she was on Mary Anne Point Road on Galiano Island.
Hayden lives in an area overlooking Active Pass, which flows between southern Galiano Island and northern Mayne Island.
"So we actually see orcas and other whales often, especially in Active Pass," she told CTV News.
Neighbours had given Hayden a heads up that orcas were entering the waterway, so she had her camera ready.
"Right away we identified them as Biggs killer whales, which are the ones that eat mammals and not salmon," she said.
The whales entered the pass and hunted down some seals, according to Hayden. After that, they looped back around and exited the same way they entered.
"I had a really good view, I saw the orcas coming around the corner," she said.
At the same time, a BC Ferries vessel was traversing through Active Pass.
"The ferry already knew that the orcas were coming into the pass because there were other vessels in the pass and they always communicate," said Hayden.
She says the ferry did a good job of slowing down, and that passengers flocked to the side of the vessel to catch a glimpse of the orcas.
"We observe BC Ferries all the time in Active [Pass] with the whales, and they do a really good job of trying to slow down for mammals and whales," she said.
In this instance, Hayden says the ferry was moving with the direction of the current, so the crew did its best to slow down without endangering other vessels or passengers on board.
"By observation, it didn't seem like the whales were in distress at all," she said.
The orcas were spotted early Sunday afternoon. (Salish Sea Orca Squad)Hayden believes the orcas caught on video were part of the T49 family. She says another group of orcas was there earlier in the day and that two groups briefly crossed paths, though this wasn't captured in video.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.