Orca in Antarctica

Orca are badarse and by far one of my favourite marine mammals to interact with around the world. They are cunning, intelligent and incredibly curious when it comes to humans whether you are on a boat/ship, kayaks or simply in the water swimming. Yet despite their potential harm they could very easily cause humans they never show any aggression in the wild. Captivity is another question where numerous aggressive behaviour has been observed towards humans - even numerous fatalities.

In Antarctica they can be quite difficult to find some days - of course there are certain areas where you have a greater chance of sighting them but there is never any guarantee. The main orca I was lucky enough to encounter the most was the Small Type B Orca aka Gerlache Killer Whales.

Typically a two toned grey coloured orca with a diatom coating, which is what gives it a slight yellow tinge. This orca primarily feeds on a variety of animals ranging from fish, penguins, seals and they have been seen harassing humpback whale calves. I actually got to watch this from a distance, as the ship cruised in the Bransfield Strait. I wanted to get closer in order to observe this behaviour however, know how stressful that situation would be for all animals involved my Expedition Leader decided to maintain our course and not interfere with the hunt. It was the right call but apart of me really would have liked to get closer...

At the end of the day just to have an orca encounter whilst on an expedition trip to the peninsula you are lucky whether it be from the ship or on a small zodiac cruise. It definitely makes my day or to be more accurate makes the entire expedition for me. I am by far grateful for the orca encounters I have had the past few months in the Southern Ocean. I hope you all enjoy my posts about them and the accompanying photographs.