Pilot whale, Oceanic bottlenose dolphin and Orca...

Yesterday we headed out for our swim and Cully (our skipper) said "Jenny have you heard the gossip?" i replied "nope, what's happened?" and he said "we've got black and whites!" (black and whites, code for Orca/killer whale!) so we headed north in search of the pod and sure enough this huge 2m dorsal fin broke the surface of the water. Simply breathtaking, I got some wicked video, we were so close we could hear them breathe, the water visability was incredible and we watched as this huge bull orca's black shadow crept below the surface of the water, we saw the whole creature, like a birds eye view...one passenger said "well thats the best thing iv ever seen in my life" i couldn't have agreed more, and the knowledge that they are completely wild, just doing their own thing, made it all more magical! it wasn't a movie, it was happening.

we headed back to the office for lunch, only to be told it would have to be a quick lunch as we were heading back out on a 'wildlife tour' there was NEW GOSSIP! this time we were told there was a pod of Pilot whale in the area travelling closely together with bottlenose dolphin. We were told that we should try and get photos and video as this doesn't happen often. One guide has worked in Kaikoura for 7 years and had never seen pilot whale in the area! SO WE WERE EXCITED.

It didnt take long for us to find them, they stood out like a sore thumb, cruising and rolling at the surface. Pilot whale are a nomadic species, mainly found around northern Atlantic waters, and the central pacific. They prefer deep water where they feed mostly at night on squid and fish. They are about 7.5m in length and travel in pods of 50-1000, normally fewer than 50 are seen together. This pod seemed to contain mainly females with a few males and even some calves :). Amongst the pilot whale were some oceanic bottlenose dolphins.

Again the water visability was amazing and we watched as these bttlenose dolphin glided below the surface.These guys are very sociable particularly with other cetaceans in this case the pilot whale. They can reach speeds of upto 18mph, and we watched as some of them came into bow ride. They were huge compared to the bottlenose we often find in aquariums.

So that was yesterday and today, well they hung around and we caught up with the pod after our afternoon swim! This time we watched as some of the pilot whales spy hopped at the surface (the whale is verticle with its head bobbing up and down above the surface) and then we watched as they all seemed to surface at exactly the same time at least 15 of them and dive down. They dive to depths of at least 600m for about 10 minutes.

here are some pictures...