The enigmatic killer whale is one of the most desired animals to see but must be seen in the wild. The undisputed top predator of the ocean, these complex, intelligent and beautiful animals need to be seen in the ocean and not in tanks.
For the last eight years I have been lucky enough to work for Láki Tours in west Iceland, the only whale watch in Iceland that sees orcas regularly. The orcas are mostly there in the spring and early summer feeding on herring. With the incredible Icelandic mountains as a backdrop and no other boats with the whales, this has to be one of the best places in the world to see them.Â
In Antarctica there are five eco-types of orcas, each looking somewhat different from the others and specialising in a certain prey. I have seen the Type B small ecotype, otherwise known as the Gerlache orcas because of where they are generally seen.
In northern Norway in winter, orcas gather in large numbers to feed on the herring that comes inside fjords. While beautiful because of the surroundings, this area has no whale watching regulations and many, many boats. The most disturbance I have ever seen on the water by whale watching was here in Norway, which is very sad. Please do not go swimming with the orcas in this area. The industry there is totally unregulated and disturbance of the whales is frequent.
I have also seen orcas in many other places, Monterey, California also being a great place to see them, generally in spring.
So these images were taken in Iceland, Norway, Antarctica and Monterey, California.
