Extraordinary Drone Footage Shows A Close Encounter With Curious Family Of Orcas

Aug 04, 2021

A group of divers off the coast of Sakhalin Island in Russia had a close encounter with a pod of seven orca whales in July 2021. The expedition leader was Mike Korostelev, 39, and he captured images of the swimming orcas from a small boat and under the water as well. There was also a drone that took video of the boat and whales from above. 

The footage shows the whales swimming up close and tapping the edge of the boat with their fins. The images that were captured under the water show the divers getting very near to the orcas as they swam together. It looks like the whales were calling out to one another, which is something that is common when a pod of whales comes together like this.

The use of the drone actually helped the divers locate the family of orcas and they were able to have the experience of a lifetime. Orcas are highly intelligent and are considered to be one of the top predators in the wild. However, this footage makes them look friendly and curious about the people aboard the ship. The whales also seemed to be comfortable with the divers when they swam together in the water as well.

Orcas can live for 50 to 80 years in the wild and grow to be 23 to 32 feet in size. They can weigh up to 6 tons and are relative to the size of a bus. Despite the whales’ intimidating presence, everyone who experienced the encounter said it felt like a dream come true. Keep reading to hear more about the divers’ journey to find the whales and to learn more about orca pods.

Korostelev said the group had been searching with snorkels for six days to find the whales. “After several days we found this very curious family. Everyone in our boat was so happy because we finally achieved our dream,” he shared. This experience is likely something the divers will not soon forget.

There is not a lot known about orca pods in the wild, but it seems that this family of seven is small by comparison. According to National Geographic, “Orcas hunt in deadly pods, family groups of up to 40 individuals. There appear to be both resident and transient pod populations of orcas. These different groups may prey on different animals and use different techniques to catch them.”

The publication explained, “Resident pods tend to prefer fish, while transient pods target marine mammals. All pods use effective, cooperative hunting techniques that some liken to the behavior of wolf packs.” These highly social mammals do not do well living in captivity and can develop high amounts of stress and harmful behaviors.

Like porpoises and other whales, orcas use echolocation to communicate with one another. National Geographic writes, “Smart and social, orcas make a wide variety of communicative sounds, and each pod has distinctive noises that its members will recognize even at a distance. They use echolocation to communicate and hunt, making sounds that travel underwater until they encounter objects, then bounce back, revealing their location, size, and shape.” 

These fascinating animals are a wonder to behold. The divers in the video are incredibly lucky to have experienced such an encounter.

Would you ever swim with orcas given the opportunity? Do you know much about these fascinating whales? We are curious to know what you think. Don’t forget to pass this along to your friends and family.