Resident

Resident:

Resident killer whales are the most commonly sighted. Although named resident it is not because they remain in one area, it is because they frequent certain areas consistently. They are nomadic just as the transient and offshore killer whales, but have a much smaller range. The resident killer whales favorite food is salmon, so they frequent areas where the salmon are abundant. They are always on the move, sometimes traveling as much as 100 miles in a day, but may be seen in a general area for a month or more and then not seen again for weeks. As the salmon go, so goes the resident killer whales. Range for resident killer whale pods may be as much as 800 miles or as little as 200 miles. Resident killer whales live in very complex and cohesive family groups known as pods. Resident pods are generally larger than the transient and offshore pods, having up to 50 or more members. Several pods occasionally get together and form what are called superpods, sometimes numbering in excess of 150 animals. The social bonds Orca breach.within these pods are stronger than those in many human societies. Each resident pod has its own distinct dialect of the killer whale language. Resident killer whales seem to be the most acrobatic of the killer whales. We usually see them spread out and cruising in small groups, breaching, spyhopping and tail slapping as they feed randomly on the salmon.