Orca family makes ‘grocery shopping’ trip near downtown Vancouver

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A family of killer whales has made a rare trip into waters off downtown Vancouver for what an expert says was likely a “grocery shopping” hunt for harbour seals.

Video shared on social media by False Creek Ferries shows the whales cruising past highrise towers at the entrance to False Creek on Sunday.

Andrew Trites, director of the UBC’s marine mammal research unit, has identified the whales as a family group of transient orcas consisting of a mother and her three offspring.

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He says it’s the first time the 26-year-old mother, known as T35A, has shown up in downtown Vancouver with her children aged six, 11 and 14.

Trites says the well-documented family has previously been seen by marine researchers from Alaska to the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Vancouver Island.

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He attributes the pod’s surprising downtown appearance to seals also changing their habits as they hide from orcas, forcing killer whales to hunt in backwater areas such as False Creek.

Trites says the video shows the whales moving quietly like “ghosts” to avoid alerting their prey.

Killer whales have previously been spotted in False Creek, including in 2019, and in 2010 a grey whale swam all the way to the end of the inlet, near Science World.

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