When Orcas Aren’t So Killer: The Surprising Friendships Forming off the British Columbia Coast

It’s not often you hear the words “killer whale” and “friendly” in the same breath. But off the coast of British Columbia, something surprising has been unfolding beneath the waves — and thanks to a new study, we have a glimpse into one of the more unexpected alliances in the animal kingdom.

National Geographic recently highlighted a study that may mark the first recorded example of friendly, even playful, interactions between orcas and other cetaceans — specifically Dall’s porpoises and Pacific white-sided dolphins.

These smaller marine mammals have been filmed not only swimming alongside these apex predators, but in some cases appear to be actively seeking them out.

The video was captured through detailed drone footage by researchers from Ocean Wise, a conservation organisation based in Vancouver. Between 2018 and 2021, biologist Brittany Visona-Kelly and her colleague Lance Barrett-Lennard documented 42 such interactions in Johnstone Strait — a deep, narrow channel where several orca populations overlap.

What they found was much more than just co-existence. The videos show porpoises and dolphins diving in and out of orca pods, shadowing them, playing with calves — and seemingly enjoying the company. It wasn’t always mutual (some adult orcas eventually got fed up and slapped their tails in frustration, rather like an adult dog gets rather testy with over-affection from a young puppy), but the scenes captured feel a long way from predator-prey dynamics.

So what’s going on?

One theory is that these smaller species are cleverly using the northern resident killer whales as a protection foil. Unlike the notorious Bigg’s killer whales, which actively hunt dolphins and porpoises, northern residents are fish-eaters, feasting mostly on Canada’s chinook salmon. They travel in large family groups and are quite vocal — in contrast to the stealthy, silent Bigg’s, who tend to hunt in smaller packs.

For a dolphin or a porpoise navigating the mean streets of the modern ocean, hanging out with the right orca might be the equivalent of walking home from school next to a friendly older sibling from whom the tough kids keep their distance.

Marine mammal researcher Sarah Teman, commenting on the study, summed it up: “They want to alleviate [fear] for a bit by catching a ride with some bigger animals that aren’t going to cause them harm.”

It’s also possible these encounters serve multiple purposes: slipstreaming in an orcas’ movements to save energy, possibly even scavenging food (though that wasn’t captured in the videos). And then there’s the simplest explanation of all — curiosity and play.

Visona-Kelly recalls one encounter where a young orca calf enthusiastically chased a pod of porpoises, clearly delighted, while its mother swam on unimpressed. “It looked like the calf was having a great time,” she said.

The contrast with other orca populations is striking. Southern residents, for example, have been documented aggressively interacting with porpoises — ramming or flipping them in displays that often end fatally. As one scientist observed, northern and southern resident orcas may live side by side, but their behaviour couldn’t be more different.