Boats Our boats offer the ultimate in comfort, safety and performance. They are custom designed for whale watching and are equipped with the latest navigational, communication and safety equipment. We offer the choice of a rigid-hulled zodiac style boat or a covered boat. In a zodiac you will be closer to the water with the breeze in your face and the occasional ocean spray. This boat features an onboard washroom for your convenience. A covered boat provides the same ride with the comfort of sitting inside a heated cabin while the ocean spray hits the viewing windows. All vessels are equipped with underwater acoustic listening systems to capture the whales' vocalizations.

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Whale Watch Guide

Distribution - Orcinus orca (killer whale) is the most widely distributed sea mammal on the planet with populations in every ocean of the world. British Columbia is home to the highest concentration of Orcas anywhere, playing host to offshore, transient and resident whales. The most commonly observed group in British Columbia is the resident whale population which is broken into two distinct communities, the northern residents and the southern residents. The southern residents are the focus of our tours. Numbering about 90, each whale belongs to one of three pods, j, k or l.

Social Structure - Resident orcas spend the majority of their life in a group which is dominated by their mother. The close-knit family groups consisting of mother and offspring are called matrilineal groups and comprise the smallest grouping of these whales. When several matrilineal groups travel together they are referred to as a subpod. A pod consists of several subpods which prefer to travel together but may separate for extended periods. The largest social structure component is a community.

Feeding - In BC, different populations of orcas have very different diets. Transient orcas feed exclusively on mammals such as seals, sea lions, porpoises and other whales. Transients rely upon surprise and group strategies in many attacks and are known as the silent hunters. Resident orcas feed exclusively upon fish. Salmon comprises 90% of their diet but bottom fish and other large schooling fish may become prey as well. Large numbers of whales work together to corral the fish into concentrated schools to make feeding easier.

Identification - Orcas can be identified by their saddle patch. This grey-white marking immediately behind the dorsal fin is unique to each animal. Some saddle patches are very distinct while others have only subtle differences so a sharp eye is required to successfully tell each orca apart. Any unique scars or markings on the dorsal fins aids in identification as well. Identified orcas are assigned an ID number based upon their pod and the order in which they were identified. Many whales have been given names by researchers as, over time, the whales have become well-known to them.

Other species - Besides the Orcas, there are a number of other animals which may be seen on our tours. These include:

Sightings

Every adventure with Cuda Marine Adventures offers new and exciting possibilities for marine wildlife encounters. This page highlights some of the recent sightings.

From November to March we offer our two hour marine wildlife tour with daily departures. These two hour trips focus on the wildlife that is native to the area through the winter months. We will typically see sea lions, porpoise, bald eagles and other sea birds. We will also on occasion see minke whales, humpback whales and/or gray whales. The orcas are not often seen throughout the winter months.

As April approaches we begin to prepare for the whale watching season and gear up for our three hour tours. The orcas begin to frequent the area and sighting success rates will climb until they are virtually 99% by the end of June. This continues until the end of September when sighting success rates of Orcas will have fallen to around 80% and they will continue to fall until the orcas are gone for the winter usually by the end of October. This is why we run our whale watching tours from April to October and the Marine wildlife tours from November to March.

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