Vancouver harbour a buffet of seals and sea lions for Bigg's orcas

While one species of orca struggles to survive in B.C. waters, another is thriving.

Bigg’s transient killer whale sightings at Vancouver’s busy port have increased significantly this year, thanks to an abundance of sea lions and seals for them to feast on and more engaged citizens reporting their sightings, say whale experts.

The population of Bigg’s killer whales — which is believed to be in the hundreds — has grown since the government stopped culling harbour seals and sea lions, the primary food source for Bigg’s, in the 1970s, said Andrew Trites, director of the marine mammal research unit at the University of B.C.

“They travel the coastline, and the portion that stop in the Salish Sea are here for one big reason, and that is we have the world’s highest density of harbour seals,”