"Once in a lifetime": Playful orcas surprise West Vancouver kayakers (VIDEO)

Ali Shuparski/Submitted

A mother and daughter out for an afternoon paddle in West Vancouver got an incredible surprise when a pod of orcas surfaced nearby.

Ali Shuparski and her mom were delighted and quickly took out their phones to start filming. The killer whales playfully bobbed up and out of the water. One of them launched itself into a jump, crashing back into the water.

“I always thought I’d be so nervous if I was that close to orcas, but it happened and I wasn’t nervous at all. I was just, like, ‘wow, this is so incredible,'” Shuparksi told Daily Hive. “I was awestruck.”

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The orca encounter happened on January 17 near Eagle Harbour in West Vancouver. Shuparski estimated the whales got within 15 metres of their kayaks, and at one point, she can be seen paddling backwards to put some space between herself and the pod.

Government of Canada rules say boats must stay at least 100 metres away from marine mammals.

“I wouldn’t recommend being that close to them,” Shuparski said. “They just kind of surprised us. I was busy looking around and didn’t really hear them until they were close.”

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She saw six orcas in total, including a male with a huge dorsal fin and a new calf that still had an orange tint to its white patches — indicating it was born within the last year.

As the whales surfaced, everything around them became quiet, Shuparski said. Everything except for a flock of seagulls following the whales trying to snag a bite of whatever they were eating.

“It was a once in a lifetime sort of feeling. And it was very, very peaceful,” she said. “I’m out here with no one on the water but my mum and I. There’s a pod of orcas and mountains towering over us. It was incredible. What special place to live.”