A rare 'pack ice' killer whale has been filmed swimming in the snow by researchers who are trying to protect this unique population.
“My colleagues and I had been searching for days and, as we slowly made our way along a channel choked with pack ice, the killer whale pod entered the channel, approaching from behind us,” says Dr. Leigh Hickmott, a researcher from Open Ocean Consulting who shot the footage in Marguerite Bay, Antarctica.
“Able to navigate the ice conditions far more easily than our vessel, they passed by our sailboat Australis and moved on to explore an inlet looking for their seal prey,” he says.
The orca was a member of the B1 pack ice population – the unique ecotype of Antarctic orcas that Hickmott studies. There are three killer whale ecotypes found in the Antarctic Peninsula: types A, B1 and B2. “Each ecotype is genetically distinct from the others and differ in size, diet, vocal behaviour and abundance,” says Hickmott.
“Pack ice killer whales are unique among Antarctic killer whales in that they 'spy hop', raising their heads out of the water to search the ice floes for resting seals,” he says. “Once found, they co-ordinate themselves to create waves that wash their prey off the ice and into the water.”
“Studying a species with exceptional intellect, watching them problem solve to successfully capture their prey and all within the backdrop of the Antarctic ecosystem is utterly spectacular,” he adds.
Hickmott’s research has shown that these orcas could be in trouble: “That population around the Antarctic Peninsula is small, less than 100 individuals and declining,” he says. His team is trying to find out more about these killer whales and how they are responding to climate change as well as finding ways to protect them.
Although each orca in this population is special, Hickmott admits he has a favourite: a female called Gertie who he first saw in the BBC's Frozen Planet series. She now stars in the BBC’s Expedition Killer Whale, which documents the work Hickmott and his team are doing to protect these ‘pack ice’ orcas.
Image and video credit: Dr. Leigh Hickmott, Open Ocean Consulting
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