Transient orcas are one of three varieties of orca communities
found along the coast of British Columbia. What sets them apart
from the well known fish eating resident orcas is that
transients prey on marine mammals. They are more difficult to
study because they live in smaller groups, usually consisting of
2-6 individuals, and they cover a large area in search of prey,
continuously on the move to maintain their stealth tactic of
hunting. If they stayed in the same area for a prolonged amount
of time, its prey would be alerted to its presence, thus
reducing successful hunting. With this on-the-move lifestyle,
they can easily travel over 100km a day. The range of transient
orcas on the west coast of North America stretches from southern
California to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. All transient
orcas share a common set of vocal signals, with some small
varieties existing, but because of transient’s fluid social
order, they have not developed the unique calls/dialects, like
resident orcas. Transients also tend