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3 Places You Can Dive with Orcas

3 Places You Can Dive with Orcas

Written by Leisure Pro Staff
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Published on January 10, 2016

Once commonly called “killer whales,” the orca used to have a bad reputation — perhaps thanks in part to a late 1970s adventure film co-starring a doomed Bo Derek. But these intelligent creatures are not likely to attack humans.

Interestingly, orcas are not actually whales but members of the dolphin family, and they are very social. Like their dolphin cousins, they travel in groups. Each pod has a leader, almost always a female, and they communicate among themselves as well as with other pods. If you want to know where to dive with orcas, read on!

New Zealand

Tutukaka, New Zealand is the gateway to the Poor Knights Islands, one of Jacques Cousteau’s favorite dive sites. Orcas are spotted here year round.

Costa Rica

Playas del Coco is a hot spot for bull shark fans, but orcas swim in these waters as well. During the colder fall and winter months the orca joins rays, dolphins, and sea turtles in these nutrient-rich waters.

Norway

The cold and crystal clear fjord-fed waters of Norway are a perfect site to spot pods of orcas. Huge numbers of the mammals have been seen, sometime in pods of 200 or more. Orcas are especially plentiful in the wintertime when they come to gorge on large amounts of herring in these waters.

Keep in mind that, while they are not known to attack humans without provocation, these tremendous mammals are predators, and caution should be used when diving or snorkeling among them. They are found all over the world but are most commonly seen in the Arctic and Antarctica, as well as off the western coasts of the US and Canada.

Leisure Pro Staff

Leisure Pro Staff

Marketing Director for LeisurePro