Orcas seen attacking other whales may be new population, according to UBC researchers

Whale watching is a popular activity for all those visiting BC. But for some UBC researchers, it’s become a curious endeavour.

After observing a group of killer whales hunting other marine mammals off the coastline in California and Oregon, UBC researchers think that a new population of orcas may exist.

Out of the 49 orcas spotted, a small pod was caught facing off against nine sperm whales and made off with one, according to the researchers. This is the first time this has been reported on the west coast.

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In a press release about the observations, the researchers believe that the pod could “belong to a subpopulation of transient killer whales or a unique oceanic population.”

The researchers came to that conclusion after comparing the whales with known photos and descriptions and finding that there were no matching species.

In the press release, lead researcher Josh McInnes said, “The open ocean is the largest habitat on our planet and observations of killer whales in the high seas are rare.”

“In this case, we’re beginning to get a sense of killer whale movements in the open ocean and how their ecology and behaviour differs from populations inhabiting coastal areas.”

The researchers are hoping to document more sightings of the whales to learn more, including gathering acoustic data about the orcas’ calls and genetic information from DNA samples.

Who knows, maybe you’ll spot a rare whale fight on your next boat venture.