A kayaker paddling in the waters near Hornby Island, just south of Comox on Vancouver Island, had several close-up experiences of how quickly orca whales can kill their prey.
Footage recorded last month by Louis Jobidon shows the orcas pouncing on the sea lions in spectacular fashion, with slow motion revealing the whale’s strategy with clamping down on its prey.
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On Monday, Jobidon captured two more videos of a pod of orca whales circling the waters around Hornby Island’s Norris Rocks, where hundreds of Stellar and California sea lions congregated.
When the orcas got too close for comfort, dozens of sea lions in the water are seen making a mad swim to the rocks for safety from the alpha predators.
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There has been a rise in orca whale sightings recently, including last week when a pod of transient species swam around Stanley Park and made their way all the way to Deep Cove, the easternmost area of North Vancouver, to hunt seals.
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