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| Originally Posted by triplefin Wow what a great experience that must have been!
Yes orcas can eat both fish and mammal, but usually have a preference. Two types resident and transcient orca. Resident ones tend to have a diet of fish whilst the transcient orca will eat mammals - seals sealions, dolphins, porposises, minke etc
Both types look very similar but there are differences The top of the dorsal fin of Transient orcas tends to be more pointed than that of Resident orcas. Less obvious, the saddle patch ( the grey pigmentation along the side & behind the dorsal fin ) is further forward on Transients.
But it is usually diet that tells them apart |
What you say applies to the orcas in British Columbia and Washington State, where there are two populations. The residents are there all the time, of course, and the transients migrate between the Sea of Cortes, Mexico, (winter months) and BC (summer).
The orcas in northern Norway (around Lofoten) follow the herring shoals which migrate from the waters south of Iceland to Norway every autumn. The orcas are there all winter. They do NOT normally eat anything else than herring and I have never heard of their preying on seals before. It must be extremely rare but perhaps the herring population is being depleted so that they have started to seek an alternative food source.