ORCAS ON THE EDGE

Orcas are surviving off the coast of British Columbia, but only just. We find out what is putting these apex predators in peril.

- KUSH PATEL

IN SUMMER 2018, HUMANKIND experienced an unusual connection with another species. Tahlequah, an orca, was seen carrying her dead calf for 1,600km around the Salish Sea. Apparently grieving her youngster, she sacrificed feeding and compromised her own health.

Headlines filled every major news outlet and social media carried outpourings of support for Tahlequah. Orcas, particularly the Southern Resident population - the well-studied group in the eastern North Pacific to which Tahlequah belongs - were in the spotlight, highlighting their precarious survival. Having experienced two decades of recovery following the 1974 ban on capturing orcas for marine parks, with numbers increasing from 71 to 98, the population has since shrunk to 74, a result of declining prey, pollution, and disturbance from ocean traffic.

Here was an apex predator with an apparent sensitive side, struggling to flourish in what, on the surface, appears to be pristine wilderness. So, in August 2018, I went to see these iconic creatures for myself.

VANCOUVER ISLAND, NORTHwest Canada, is a lozenge of land that shelters the mainland from the whims of the Pacific Ocean. Nestled V in its embrace is a scattering of islands, some no larger than a sea lion's sun-lounger, that make up the Broughton Archipelago. Hanson Island is one of these, positioned strategically between the aptly named Blackfish Sound and Johnston Strait - prime orca habitat. Here, under a canopy of firs, a simple camp is my home for the next few days. I am surrounded by mountains, forest, and air so fresh it almost stings.