Photo: Male Orca Sunset Northern Vancouver Island

The yellow rays at sunset explode across the water off Northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia as a male Orca surfaces.

As this male Orca prepares to dive, the sunset colors sparkle across the surface of the water off Northern Vancouver Island. The light reflects off his dorsal fin just before he intends to disappear with the water rippling around him. Visible bubbles linger around this male from his blowhole and the movement of his body just behind his saddle patch.

This male Orca belongs to a group of Killer Whales known as the Northern Residents which travel the waters off Northern Vancouver Island regularly from July to October every year. Sunset is the ideal time to be whale watching as most of the other whale watching tours have headed home for the evening and you can capture magnificent photos as long as the Orca cooperate.

Usually these Orca travel with or near their pod and it is fairly certain that the rest of his family is not too far away. They travel alone for a short period of time while foraging but they will always reunite once the matriarch calls to her family members to gather together again. ... continue below the picture...

This picture is part of the photo album "Killer Whale Pictures" - there are more beautiful images waiting for you.

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Yellow and orange hues fill the Northern Vancouver Island sky at sunset but dark clouds loom above which could be the onset of an approaching storm. Whichever way the weather decides to go, it will not make any difference to this male Orca but it could deter whale watching trips leaving from the shores of Northern Vancouver Island in the morning.

Killer Whale off Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, Orcas at sunset