Four spies

In the eerie day-long twilight of the northern winter, a family of orcas peeked out of the water in perfect synchronicity to spy on our small boat. They surprised even the most seasoned whale-spotters in our group. We were there to help scientists shed light on new behaviors seen between orcas and humpbacks feeding in the frigid waters off of Lofoten. The story, according to whale scientists, who until then had never jumped in the water with orcas, was that the orcas were collaborating with humpback whales in what is known as “carousel feeding”. Once we got in the water, however, we witnessed a very different story. Orcas spend their entire lives in close-knit families. They travel, hunt, sl...View all