Patience is definitely a virtue & some luck doesn't hurt either

Successfully interacting with the largest apex predators of the ocean is at times incredibly intimidating but also invigorating and addictive. To do this properly and without causing any negative impacts on the animal in question then you require a few basic principles.

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Firstly, you need to know what you are doing and understand how to recognize the animals behaviour.

Secondly, patience is by far the most important virtue when it comes to orca encounters.

Thirdly, a little bit of luck doesn't hurt

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This shot itself is from a still from some go pro footage I got from a male orca from the Souther Resident population. They are critically endangered and this is mainly due to their primary food source, Chinnok Salmon, being at incredibly low population amounts. At times they will use a non-moving and quiet vessel as a tool to successfully catch their food, which is what occurred here in this encounter. Unfortunately, I did not get any footage of the big fella chasing and catching his food but shortly after he turned and swam slowly and curiously looking up at me, as he acknowledged the vessels assistance in obtaining his lunch. You can see the shadow he is swimming into, which is the shadow caused by the vessel itself.

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A male orca looking up to my boat after a successful hunt of a salmon - basically, saying thank you for assisting him in grabbing his lunch
Click image to view full size

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It is vitally important here to note that this type of encounter has happened to me about 3 times in 1,000s of encounters I have had with this population. I was beyond lucky to not only have this close encounter but to get some sort of footage from it as well. It is something you can never force and I can guarantee that it won't happen very often. Either way, I am beyond ecstatic to have had this close encounter and can only hope the people who were with me on the vessel truly appreciate the encounter as well.

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Thanks for reading and all the support, Steemit!!

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