Mammal-eating orcas cruise coast CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 NANAIMO - A group of 13 transient killer whales has paid an unexpected visit to Nanaimo harbour, possibly in search of food. Robin Abernethy, a marine mammal technician at Nanaimo's Pacific Biological Station, said the group was last week spotted swimming south at Stephenson Point. The whales were monitored as they headed toward Dodds Narrows before turning back north into Nanaimo harbour and were last seen near the Winchelsea Islands. She said the whales were identified as transients, which hunt other sea mammals such as harbour seals, porpoises and sea lions, and these particular whales usually spend their time on the west coast of Vancouver Island and off the coast of Alaska. Abernethy said transient killer whales, which number about 220 in the Vancouver Island area, are occasionally seen in areas in the Strait of Georgia where there are lots of harbour seals, and she expects the whales were in Nanaimo harbour looking for food. "They're unpredictable animals and we don't know for certain why these transients came together to travel in such a large group, but there may be social reasons or it may be just easier for them to hunt," she said. In a previous interview, marine biologist John Ford said hundreds of killer whales travel by Nanaimo at all times of the year, but most of those seen in Nanaimo waters are usually fish-eating southern resident killer whales from pods that generally stay in the Strait of Georgia year-round. Transient and resident killer whales are socially isolated from each other and never mix. ? The Vancouver Sun 2007