Kayaking with the Orcas
(Orcinus Orca) |
The Northern Resident Killer Whale pods
make regular visits to the pebbly beaches to rub and roll themselves on
possibly to relieve themselves from a skin parasite unique to the Northern
Residents. Across from the rubbing beaches, perched high atop a cliff is a
research
outpost
that
is occupied by a group of very dedicated people that collect data on the
Orcas activities all summer long. We often pass under them while kayaking
with the Orcas.
Whale sounds
from the
Hydrophone
The Orca makes sounds while underwater that can be heard with a special
underwater microphone called a hydrophone while kayaking with the Orcas. A good quality hydrophone will
pick up the clicks from the Orcas echo location signals as well as the
inspiring sounds of the calls them selves. The "calls" the Killer Whale
makes are made with its blowhole much like we would whistle. Incredibly,
the Orcas calls are unique for each pod, allowing researchers to identify
the pods just by the sounds they make. They don't even have to see them to
tell who is there.
Saddles
and IDs
Each Killer
Whale has unique
patches
of white/gray pigment on their backs at the base of their dorsal fins that
has scratches and marks that researchers use to identify individual
whales. |
Exciting
Wildlife Viewing
This area is also home to a host of other animals both land and marine wildlife. There are Bald
Eagles, Black Bears, Black Tailed Deer, Mink, River Otters, Sea Lions,
Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Dalls' Porpoises.
Low tide reveals a cornucopia of discovery with star fishes, sea anemones,
shell fish, jelly fish, and the list goes on. Adventure is abound while
kayaking with the Orcas.
Kayaking with the Orcas
Out For Adventure Wilderness Tours offers kayaking adventures across Canada,
specializing in kayaking with the Orcas in Johnstone Strait British Columbia.
More information can be found About these kayaking with the Orcas tours by the follow links.
Kayaking with the Orcas
Kayak with
Orcas multi-day tours
Kayaking with
the Orcas
Trip Description |
Kayaking
with the Orcas is an amazing experience and is very popular in
British Columbia. Each year many excited guests join Out For
Adventure Wilderness Tours for an experience of a lifetime-
kayaking with the Orcas. As you learn more about the wild Orca the
more intriguing the idea of paddling a kayak with them becomes. A
kayak leaves no tracks, no marks on the water. It makes no
mechanical sounds, emits nothing into the water or air, uses no
animals for propulsion. It glides across the water with ease and
grace like a whale cruising the surface. When we read about the wild
Orca in BC, we inevitably will read about kayaking with the Orcas
and the rubbing
beaches in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.
Robson Bight Ecological Reserve
The Robson Bight is an Ecological Reserve for the whales
located on the Vancouver Island shore at the Sitika valley.
Extending either side of the valley and one kilometer off shore the
entire area is out of bounds to all but the whales and the
commercial fishermen during an opening. Within it's
boundaries are the famous rubbing beaches. Kayaking with the Orcas does
not take place within the boundary. |