Transients : Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of B.C., Washington State, and Southeast Alaska

Killer Whales are found in all oceans of the world, but nowhere arethey better known than in the coastal waters of British Columbia,Washington, and southeastern Alaska.

Twenty-five years of study in thisregion have yielded many surprising discoveries about the naturalhistory of this species.

One of the most remarkable is that twogenetically distinct forms of killer whales reside in these waters. These whales do not associate and each leads a completely differentlifestyle: residents specialize on a diet of salmon and other fishes,while transients are hunter of seals, sea lions, porpoises, and evenlarge whales. This book focuses on transient killer whales. Enigmatic and elusive,these mammal-hunting whales are difficult animals to study.

They travelin small groups, often moving unpredictably, which makes them lessconspicuous than the larger resident pods.

For these and other reasons,our understanding of the life history and ecology of transient killerwhales has lagged behind that of residents. Transients contains the latest information on the naturalhistory of transient killer whales, including their feeding habits,social lives, and distribution patterns.

The catalogue section containsphotographs of and notes on over 200 individual whales.

Numeroussidebars contain interesting observations on encounters with transientsas well as information on how and where to best watch them.