Fishing lessons from J 30 "Riptide" on June 5, 2007.

In these two pictures we can see J30 "Riptide" born in 1995 teaching his younger sibling J 40 "Suttles" born in 2005, to catch Salmon.

Ron Bates, local Marine Mammal Researcher, described the scene today during our afternoon trip when J30 "Riptide" provided a Salmon hunting lesson to his sibling, J 40 "Suttles". According to Ron, the Salmon tried to avoid capture by swimming near the tail of the two Orcas. He also noticed that "Suttles" seemed a little hesitant in attacking the Salmon but believes that "Riptides" persistence paid off and eventually the Salmon did become dinner. It is not unusual to observe older Orcas teaching the calfs how to hunt and make a kill. Last year we had a very memorable trip where two adult Transient Orcas were observed teaching a calf to kill a Porpoise.

A fully grown Resident Orca may eat between 24-34 Salmon a day. The mouth of the orca is large and well adapted for hunting. It has 46 to 50 conical shaped teeth that point slightly backwards and inwards. The upper and lower teeth interlock, which aids in gripping large prey and tearing it into smaller pieces for easier swallowing. Depending on the population and geographic area, the diet of orcas varies. Food preference and availability may have led to the distinct population types, such as resident, transients, and offshores that have been observed/identified in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and other areas around the world. Generally speaking, transients will feed on a variety of animals including: sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, porpoises, squid, sharks, fish, penguins, smaller whales, such as belugas and narwhals and even large baleen whales, such as gray whales. Resident whales tend to feed primarily on fish species such as salmon or herring. In the case of the Southern Resident Orcas, they seem to have a taste for Salmon and in particular Chinook Salmon during the summer months. The diet of offshores is still being studied by scientists.

As with all toothed Whales, Orcas emit high-frequency sounds, and receive echos to navigate in their environment and locate prey. This highly developed form of sonar is called Echolocation and provides data that the whale is then able to translate into information of the surrounding world. Echolocation enables whales to navigate through even the darkest ocean depths.

Sound clicks are produced in the blowhole and focused as a beam through their melon. Echos are received through the lower jaw to their ear bones and form an acoustic image. Although Orcas use this sophisticated Echolocation system to navigate and catch prey, they also have very good eyesight.