Passengers on board a B.C. Ferries took some remarkable footage recently after witnessing killer whales swimming around some dolphins.
The Queen of Oak Bay which goes from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island was travelling when passengers and the crew spotted the group of killer whales.
“They’re being chased,” says one of the passengers in awe as onlookers soon realized that the whales were going after dolphins.
It’s still a rare sight to see killer whales attacking dolphins, but they are becoming increasingly common, according to an expert at the Vancouver Aquarium.
Lance Barrett-Lennard said in an interview with the Vancouver Sun that there have been increasingly growing numbers of Biggs whales. The transient killer whales, as they are also called, are known for being mammal-eaters.
“There’s been a shift to use this area more so it’s much more common to see them in this part of British Columbia.”
Killer whales can spend hours stalking their dolphin prey and uses a method of splitting them up into a smaller group before targeting them for attack.
h/t: Vancouver Sun
Photo credit: Whales and Dolphins of B.C.
