Orca Spirit Adventures
146 Kingston Street V8V 1V4 Victoria, BC, Canada

Saturday February 13th - Our office is closed and all whale watching tours have been cancelled due to today’s weather. . Our office will reopen tomorrow at 830am and all tours will resume as normal! . Stay warm and happy SNOW DAY!... . . . #ExploreBC #ExploreVictoria #ExperienceTheWild #SnowDay See more

Have you entered our Family Day giveaway yet? Just two days left until we announce the winner. We're giving one lucky family a whale watching tour for four! Join us for an unforgettable experience on the Salish Sea where you'll get the chance to see Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, California and Steller Sea Lions, porpoises & more! ... Head over to https://orcaspirit.com/family-day-giveaway/ to submit your entries. Don't forget to share why you'd like to win a whale watching tour & be sure to follow @orcaspiritvic on Instagram. Click the link below to complete your entries! The giveaway runs until February 14th at midnight PST & is open to BC Residents. The winner will be announced on Family Day at noon! Destination Greater Victoria Destination British Columbia Tourism Vancouver Island Canada Keep Exploring VictoriaNow CHEK News Attractions Victoria, BC Canada #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #GiveAway #FamilyDay

Love is on the water.. or in this case on the shores of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Are you looking for some adventure over this long weekend?! We have just a few spots left on our winter wildlife zodiac tours! Don’t forget that if you are a B.C Resident you can use promo code BCLOCAL at checkout to receive 10% off your tour. ... Head to our website or call our office to book your tour today! https://orcaspirit.com/whale-watchin/winter-wildlife-tours/ Destination Greater Victoria Destination British Columbia Attractions Victoria, BC Canada Tourism Vancouver Island #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #FamilyDay

This week’s #WhaleOfTheWeek is Lobo (K-26). Lobo is the oldest living offspring born to Lea (K-14) in 1993. The death of Lobo’s two older siblings caused Lea to be very protective over him for a long time. ... He has two younger siblings, his sister Yoda (K-36) and his little brother Kelp (K-42). Lobo is easy to pick out when we come across K-pod because he has a very tall, straight dorsal fin that is very rounded at its tip. Destination Greater Victoria Destination British Columbia #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #SRKW

#HappyHumpday If you haven't, make sure you enter in to our Family Day giveaway for your chance to win a whale watching trip for 4! Head over to: https://orcaspirit.com/family-day-giveaway/ to submit your entries.... Don't forget to share why you'd like to win a whale watching tour & be sure to follow @orcaspiritvic on Instagram. The giveaway runs until February 14th at midnight PST & is open to BC Residents. The winner will be announced on Family Day at noon! Destination Greater Victoria Destination British Columbia Tourism Vancouver Island Canada Keep Exploring VictoriaNow CHEK News #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #GiveAway #Contest #FamilyDay

On our tours out of Port Renfrew, even on the foggiest of days, we find the Humpback Whales who have found a good feeding patch, equivalent to an all-you-can-eat buffet! We watch 10-20 whales, side by side, all diving together in a spectacular fashion and disappearing into the dark water below us. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #PortRenfrew Wild Renfrew

We are proud to say that Orca Spirit Adventures has received its Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). We have implemented strict Covid-19 protocols in all aspects of our operations to ensure that our staff and guests stay safe! This stamp recognizes destinations and tourism businesses around the world which have adopted health and hygiene global standardized protocols so visitors can experience Safe Travels!... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #SafeTravels

Hungry hungry humpbacks! Humpbacks are famous for their unique way of hunting fish called bubble-net feeding. A group of Humpback Whales gather together, with several of the members diving deep down below a school of fish. They swim towards the surface in a spiral pattern releasing bubbles as they ascend. Fish are afraid to swim through the bubbles, thus they create a bubble net, herding the fish towards the surface.... All the whales in the group then open their mouths as they reach the surface, swallowing massive quantities of fish. Each whale may consume as much as a ton of food a day to build up fat stores for their upcoming migration. They then travel approximately 9,000km (5,600 miles) to the Hawaiian Islands for the winter months where they mate and calve. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #HumpbackWhale

Like you, we’re passionate about exploring BC. But now is the time for us to stay local and support local businesses with just your immediate household or bubble. Let’s each do our part now, so we can explore BC again, soon. We're all in this together.

This week’s furry #FeatureFriday is the River Otter. River Otters are members of the mustelids family and occupy both sea and freshwater habitats along the Pacific coast and throughout North America. They prefer to be near shore or inland waters, as they are more at home on land than they are in the water. River Otters have long, slender bodies, with long tails that they use for steering while they swim.... Their fur is dense for insulation and brown on the top of their body and white on their face, throat, and belly. They can grow up to 1.3m (46) long and weigh 13.5 kg (30 lbs.)! River Otters use hollow logs, roots, or old dens from beavers and muskrats as nests to raise their offspring. Pups live in the nest for 10 to 12 weeks before they venture into the water and learn to swim and hunt on their own! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #RiverOtter

As we were concluding one of our tours last week, after spending time with the Sea Lions at Race Rocks Ecological reserve, other sights caught our eye, like the picturesque Mount Baker to the east in Washington! Mount Baker stands 10,781 ft (3,286 m) tall and boasts the world record for most snowfall. In the winter of 1998-1999, Mount Baker received 1,140 inches (95 feet or 29 meters) of snow! Despite all that snow, it is a stratovolcano found in the Cascade Mountain range. W...e love to have it as a backdrop to our office out here on the Salish Sea! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #MountBaker

This week’s #PhotoOfTheWeek is the beloved duo of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as Esperanza (T10) and her son, Bones (T10C)! Killer Whales are known for their close family bonds, with mother and son staying together for life. It is estimated that Esperanza was born around 1964 and Bones was born in 1999. Female killer whales go through menopause in their early forties, so Esperanza will not be having any more offspring. Bones is now a mature male at the age of 21, so he may co...ntribute to the Bigg’s Killer Whale gene pool soon! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #POTW

This week’s #PhotoOfTheWeek gives you a close look at the rostrum of a Humpback Whale. The bumps on the rostrum, or head, and the pectoral fins of a Humpback Whale are, in fact, hair follicles. Called tubercles, these fist-sized bumps contain one stiff hair follicle each, connected to a set of sensitive nerves.... Scientists are not entirely sure how they work, but it is believed the nerve hair is used to detect prey! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #HumpbackWhale

We want to wish you all a safe and Happy Halloween from our pod to yours! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #Spyhop #Halloween

This week’s #FeatureFriday is the T36A Bigg’s Killer Whale family. The T36A family is a Bigg’s Killer Whale matriline commonly seen in local waters. The first whale in the family we often identify is Tierna (T36A1) because she has a very distinct and unique tear in her dorsal fin. Tierna is never far from her mother Leland (T36A) who leads the family and was born in 1990. Leland has two additional offspring named Kailas (T36A2) and Storm (T36A3). The T36A family is extra spec...ial to Orca Spirit crew because one of our marine naturalists, Talia Goodyear, actually named Storm! Scientists, NGO’s, and whale watchers all work together to give the whales common names so that it is easier for the general public to remember their names and connect to their stories. Talia chose the name Storm because of the lightning bolt-shaped scar in Storm’s left saddle patch! Rachael, Naturalist #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhales

Orca Spirit Adventures began collaborating with the Pacific Salmon Foundation(PSF) in 2015 to proactively protect our coastal marine habitat. Since then, all of our guests contribute a $2 per person wildlife conservation fee 100% of which Orca Spirit donates towards PSF’s programs for restoration of salmon in the Salish Sea. We have now donated over $154,000 to this program and will continue to make donations annually! The Pacific Salmon Foundation operates Salmon Conservat...ion projects all along the BC coast. With over 150 scientists and technical staff from more than 40 federal and state agencies, First Nations, universities, industry and non-profit organizations from the United States and Canada, PSF works to rebuild the population of wild pacific salmon, promote sustainable fisheries, and create a foundation for long-term monitoring of the Salish Sea and salmon health. The Foundation also funds grassroots community-led projects, as well as larger-scale restoration and research projects such as the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. This project is intended to increase the population of wild Coho and Chinook (a favourite food source for the Southern Resident Killer Whale community) in the Salish Sea. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #SustainabilitySunday #SRKW

This week’s #PhotoOfTheWeek is the T46B family cruising through a rainbow on the Juan de Fuca Strait. We have seen some pretty magical experiences on the water in the last week and this is one of them! Thanks to one of our marine naturalist, Leah, for capturing this incredible shot!... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #POTW

This week’s #FeatureFriday is the American Mink. The American Mink is a semi-aquatic species of mustelid native to North America. They are carnivores that feed on rodents, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and birds. On land, the mink moves with a bounding gait, at speeds up to 6.5 km/h. They also climbs trees and swim well!... During swimming, the mink propels itself primarily using undulating movements of its streamlined body. The mink relies heavily on sight when foraging; as well, its auditory perception is high enough to detect the ultrasonic vocalizations of rodent prey! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #AmericanMink

This week’s #FeatureFriday is the Great Blue Heron. Great Blue Herons are very large birds with long legs for wading in the water to search for food. They will prey on frogs, fish and crabs! They are easily identified by their gray- blue wings, white bodies, and long, pale yellow bills. Great Blue Herons also sport a tuft of black feathers on their heads making them punk rock stars of the bird family. ... These tall birds nest in trees, having a rookery at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. They are year round residents in our area! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #GreatBlueHeron

This week’s #WhaleOfTheWeek is Esperanza (T18). Esperanza is the grandmother of the T18 family who includes her daughter Mooyah (T19), and her two grandsons Galiano (T19B) and Spouter (T19C). She was named after Esperanza Inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island!... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale

Just a few days left to get 20% off your whale watching tour out of Victoria! If you are a BC resident, travelling around Vancouver Island and are looking for a thrilling adventure on the Salish Sea, head to our website www.orcaspirit.com to book a once in a lifetime experience! Be sure to use the promo code: BCLOCAL at checkout to receive your discount!... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild

This week’s #WhaleOfTheWeek is Eclipse (J-41), the newest mother in the Southern Resident Killer Whale population! Eclipse gave birth to her second calf, J-58, on September 24th, 2020- an event that our guests and crew witnessed on our covered vessel tour! Eclipse is also famous for being the youngest known S.R.K.W to give birth as she was just 10 years old when she had her first offspring Nova (J-51) in 2015. Eclipse is never found far from her mother Shachi (J-19), who enjoys being a grandmother. We are very happy for Eclipse and hope the newest addition to this family grows up healthy and strong!

#DidYouKnow?! A female Humpback Whale has a baby every two to three years? She carries her young for a gestation period of about 11-12 months. Newborn calves are between 10 and 15 feet long and weigh up to a ton! That is the same size as a small compact car!... Calves nurse for almost a year and their mother's milk is 45 to 60 percent fat content. Calves can drink about 158 gallons (600 liters) of milk per day! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #WhaleFact

What a day to be on the water. The Pacific Explorer made its way out of the Victoria Harbour with its guests and crew not expecting to have a once in a lifetime trip! The trip started with a great visit from Scuttle the Humpback Whale. This whale has been a regular this season and the crew of Orca Spirit have become quite fond of it. Skuttle was first recorded in the Salish Sea in 2018 and has not only been spotted here every year since but has also been recorded spending its... winters in Baja California. On our way to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve one of our guests spotted a lone Killer Whale so we stopped to take a look. At this point the marine naturalists on board realized that she was a lone Southern Resident Killer Whale, which was very odd, as they typically travel in large family units called pods. What we didn’t know is what we were about to witness the first breaths of Eclipse (J-41) baby calf! Continue reading our captains blog here!

On one of our tours out of Port Renfrew we witnessed something that we have never seen before! With no warning we found ourselves in the middle of Humpbacks Whales chasing Killer Whales and displaying their strength with mighty breaches and tail swipes directed at the Killer Whales. Despite being the ocean’s apex predator, these Killer Whales had to dodge and evade the humpback’s charges. Even more fascinating was that it appeared playful to the superiorly agile Killer Whale...s. They almost appeared to encourage the chase and when things slowed down, they would circle and allow their presence to further antagonize the humpbacks and reinvigorate the chase! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #PortRenfrew Wild Renfrew

#DidYouKnow?! Minke Whales are the second smallest species of baleen whale? They have a slender torpedo shape, with a very triangular shaped head. They have small dorsal fins that hook sharply backwards.... Minkes average 8 to 9m (26-30 feet) in length and weigh 8-10 tons. Their baleen plates, which they use to filter-feed small prey such as krill, herring and sand lance, measures 30 cm (12 inches) in length. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #MinkeWhale

We as an organization, now have a unique opportunity to protect this valuable resource by investing in a conservation economy through the purchase of carbon offsets. We have selected to support The Great Bear Rainforest initiative, which is focusing on protecting an area that is so crucial to the purity of our inland waterways that filter into our coastal marine environment. The Great Bear Forest Carbon Project is an Improved Forest Management initiative, which generates emis...sion reductions by protecting forest areas that were previously designated, sanctioned or approved for commercial logging. It is a landmark project for balancing human well-being and ecological integrity through carbon finance, and is the first carbon project in North America on traditional territory with unextinguished Aboriginal Rights and Title. We believe taking the first step towards conserving our backyard is by recognizing our carbon emissions, and finding ways to reduce our footprint. We all make an impact on our environment and we are doing whatever it takes to educate and plan for a better future for our oceans. We are so fortunate to call this piece of paradise home and would like to see it remain this way, if not better, for generations to come. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #SustainabilitySunday

This summer in Port Renfrew was unlike any other we have experienced in the last four years. Open ocean swells and vast fog banks are the primary challenges we overcome while exploring the rich marine ecosystem of the area’s surrounding offshore waters! Unlike most years, the waters offshore were calm and the foggy days were few and far between. The stress and turmoil brought on by year 2020 seem distant here; allowing an escape into gentle seas, clear skies, and life changin...g encounters with whales. It is hardly surprising that our success rate in finding whales in Port Renfrew was 100% for the entire season! Each trip guaranteed a sighting of any combination of Humpback Whales, Killer Whales, or Grey Whales! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #PortRenfrew Wild Renfrew

This week’s #PhotoOfTheWeek is Rainy (T011A). Rainy has been travelling pretty much on his own since early 2019 when his mother Wakana (T11) passed away. Rainy is one of the older males of the Biggs Killer Whale population at 42 years old and is near the average life expectancy for a male, especially after their mother has passed away.... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #POTW

This week’s #FeatureFriday is the Minke Whale! Minke Whales are the second smallest baleen whale in the world! Minkes are often covered in white, oval scars that are likely from the bites of Cookie Cutter Sharks. This species of shark is only found in warm waters south of Vancouver Island. ... Their sharply curved dorsal fin gives them away, along with their notoriously stinky exhales! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #MinkeWhale

Here at Orca Spirit Adventures we care deeply about marine conservation and we do many things to help protect the oceans and the marine wildlife that call it their home! We are proud to say that, for the second year in a row, we have adopted Argonaut the Humpback Whale through the Marine Education & Research Society (M.E.R.S). Argonaut’s first sighting in 2020 was on June 19th, in Blackfish Sound, near Telegraph Cove. While we cannot know for certain, as the photos are too f...ar away to say, it appears that Argonaut has new scarring behind his dorsal fin. With Argonaut being a mature male, scarring may result from interactions with other males in the breeding grounds. The funds that are raised through the Humpback Whale sponsorship program will go directly toward supporting M.E.R.S research, education, and response activities! Photo: Jackie Hildering; MERS. #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #SustainabilitySunday

Halloween Contest!

This week’s #WhaleOfTheWeek is Cookie (J-38). Cookie is the only living offspring of Oreo (J-22). He lost his older brother DoubleStuf (J-34) in December of 2016. Cookie always swims close to his mother and spends lots of time with podmate Mako (J-39) who is the same age. Cookie is maturing into an adult; gaining a taller and straighter dorsal fin as seen in adult male orcas. His saddlepatch on the right side reminds us of Blackberry’s (J-27) saddlepatch on his right side as... well! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale #SRKW

This week’s #PhotoOfTheWeek is the T65B Bigg’s Killer Whale family cruising the glass calm waters of the Haro Strait. Over a mutli-day private charter, we had the privilege to explore some areas that we don’t often get to see on our public tours. We love when whales make an appearance and our guests can see the magic of viewing whales in the wild. ... Thank you to our lead naturalist Rachael for capturing this shot!

This was a year like no other, with the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the start of the Victoria whale watching season until July. With international borders closed, Victoria was a quieter place with only tourists from across Canada visiting our Capital City. While the world seemed up-side-down on land, time on the water and with wildlife felt unchanged. Whales still surged through the darkness of the deep, and sea lions continued to bark and growl. Ollie the Sea Otter still spen...t time napping in the Bull Kelp beds, while seabirds carried on raising chicks and diving for small fish to feed hungry mouths. Continue reading our Victoria whale watching season highlights blog here #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild

WE HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE! Expectant mother, J-41, aka Eclipse, gave birth to her newest baby on Thursday afternoon, just southwest of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve! We are thrilled to have been able to witness something so special happen with our crew - Captain Jordan, and Marine Naturalists, Talia and Leah and guests on board the Pacific Explorer vessel. ... We were on our way to Race Rocks to wrap up our afternoon tour after spending some time with Skuttle the Humpback Whale, when we were surprised to see a lone Killer Whale. After she was seen going under for several minutes, she reappeared to the surface, about 3 or 4 times, and each time she was pushing something with her rostrum! After going over all of the possibilities of what our crew could be seeing, that’s when the little calf came out of the water and the black and orange body was seenwe just witnessed the first breaths taken by J-41’s (Eclipse) new calf! I have been watching whales since I was 5 years old and have never seen anything like this before! Captain Jordan It took a few minutes to realize what was actually happening, but then it was pure excitement realizing that it was a birth and the baby was very alive and boisterous." Leah, Marine Naturalist As the PWWA remains cautiously optimistic for the health and survival of yet another beautiful new addition to J-Pod, survival for the endangered SRKW population directly correlates with the health of Chinook salmon. Incredible captures by Leah and Talia, Marine Naturalists #WeArePWWA #tourismvictoria #tourismvancouverisland #hellobc #whalewatching #ecotourism #SRKW #newbaby #Jpodcalf #OrcaSpiritAdventures #ExperienceTheWild

EXCITING NEWS ALERT!! It turned out to be a once in a lifetime tour for our guests and crew on board the Pacific Explorer yesterday, September 24th. As we were wrapping up our tour at Race Rocks Lighthouse after spending some time with Humpback Whales, we didn’t realize we were about to encounter something really special - the first breath of Eclipse's (J-41) new baby!... Captain Jordan and marine naturalists Leah and Talia captured photos and submitted them to the Centre for Whale Research, where earlier this morning they confirmed the new calf of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population. Stay tuned for more photos! #WeArePWWA #tourismvictoria #tourismvancouverisland #hellobc #whalewatching #ecotourism #SRKW #newbaby #Jpodcalf #OrcaSpiritAdventures #ExperienceTheWild

Sept. 24th, 2020: One of our guest and crew’s favourite whale made an appearance on today’s tour... it was the one and only, T’Luk Mick, Lead Zodiac Captain Video taken is cropped and zoomed in lens.... #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #KillerWhale

This week’s #WhaleOfTheWeek is Tahlequah (J-35). Tahlequah is the only mature female in her family after the loss of her sister Polaris (J-28) in October 2016 and her mother Princess Angeline (J-17) in August 2019. Tahlequah is known around the world because she is the Killer Whale who carried her deceased calf on her head for 17 long days in 2018. Many believe it was an act of mourning as Killer Whales hold extremely tight bonds to their family members.... She gave birth to another calf in early September 2020, currently named J-57. It's a boy! #ExploreVictoria #ExploreBC #ExperienceTheWild #SRKW #KillerWhale