Swimming with orcas

Transcription

Swimming with orcas

Diving in the freezing waters of
the deepest fjord of Norway to
swim with the king of the seas.
Impossible ? No, we did it !
Guaranteed thrill...
Swimming with killer whales !
Photos and text ©Jean Robert/Lightmediation
Contact- Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com
556-09: Each november, hundreds of orcas (killer whales) enter the tysfjord, 200 km south of Narvik, hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters. I'ts the only place in the wolrd where its
possible to swim with them. Tysfjord. 90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
556-01: Living in all oceans of the planet, l'orcinus orca or killer whale belongs to the dolphin family. With his
length of 23 feet and hihs weight of 5 tons, he's the most powerful carnivore Orcas. Killer Whale. Tysfjord,
90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
556-03: Each november, hundreds of orcas (killer whales) enter the tysfjord, 200 km south of Narvik,
hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters.Some whale safari whale watching are
organised aboard big boat or rubber boat. Tysfjord. 90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
556-10: Each november, hundreds of orcas (killer whales) enter the tysfjord, 200 km south of Narvik, hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters.Some whale safari whale watching are
hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters. I'ts the only place in the wolrd where its
556-11: Orcas. Killer Whale. Tysfjord, 90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters. Tysfjord. Norway
hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters. Big fishing boats catch herrings and respect
orcas. Tysfjord. Norway
orcas. Tysfjord. Norway
orcas. Tysfjord. Norway.
556-12: Each november, hundreds of orcas (killer whales) enter the tysfjord, 200 km south of Narvik, hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters. Tysfjord. Norway
556-24: Each november, hundreds of orcas (killer whales) enter the tysfjord, 200 km south of Narvik, hunting herrings. They stay all the winter in these cold waters.Some whale safari whale watching are
556-29: Living in all oceans of the planet, l'orcinus orca or killer whale belongs to the dolphin family. With his length of 23 feet and hihs weight of 5 tons, he's the most powerful carnivore Orcas. Killer Whale.
Tysfjord, 90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
556-37: Living in all oceans of the planet, l'orcinus orca or killer whale belongs to the dolphin family. With his length of 23 feet and hihs weight of 5 tons, he's the most powerful carnivore Orcas. Killer Whale.
Tysfjord, 90 km south of Narwik. Norway.
Swimming with killer
whales !
« Orcas in sight ! » John Stenersen drops
his binoculars and opens the throttle. The
zodiac boat proceeds at twenty knots in
the cold air along the rocky ice-polished
walls of the fjord. Straight ahead, the
snow-covered peaks of the Lofoten
islands are endlessly turning rosy because
of the winter sun. Three hundreds yards
port side, tail flukes, straight and glossy,
almost 6,5 feet high suddenly appears
from the dark waters. A big male orca.
Stuck in our diving suits, masks on the
nose, we are being dangled on the zodiac
boat. John is reducing speed. Several
females, easily recognizable because of
their shorter back-curved fins, have joined
the gigantic male. John repeats us one
more last time the safety rules. Stay
together, do not disturb the orcas and
avoid abrupt movements. We dive
smoothly. The temperature of the water
does not exceed 37°F. A good dry diving
suit is necessary ! But the good news is
that it is actually hoter in the water than
outside on the boat where it is freezing to
death. Only restraint, we need to empty
our masks to make the condensation
disappear and then dive our heads again
under the water. Just enough time to get
used to the feeble light and we perceive,
coming from the abyss, a spindle-shaped
form: the conical head of a female orca is
charging us ! And just 10 feet before
reaching us, she suddenly turns around
and shows us her white abdomen. A bit
farer, another female shoots out of water
in a hazy cloud, and holds up her head, in
the "spying" so-called position, and turns
toward us to observe us.
At 155 miles in the north of the Arctic
Circle, the Tysfjord is the deepest fjord of
Norway, 3000 feet deep and around 38
miles long. Until 1987, this remote area of
the Nordland county did not call anything
to mind for the Norwegians themselves.
But that year, hundreds of orcas settled
their winter quarters here.
Since this day, a ritual ballet was
established. At the beginning of october,
tens of millions of herrings are engulfed
into the dark waters of the Tysfjord and
stay there until spring. Then arrive the
orcas, for which herring is such a
wonderful dish. "With more than 600 orcas
in winter, the fjord welcomes the biggest
concentration of orcas in the world" is
pleased to announce Chantal Forsa,
naturalistic guide and cetaceans lover. By
wich
mystery
have
the
herrings
exchanged their winter quarters in Island
against the northern costs of Norway ?
"Some scientists think that a changing of
the undercurrents incited them to stay
along the Norwegian costs" explains
Chantal.
Living in all the oceans of the planet,
l'Orcinus orca, or killer whale, belongs to
the dolphins family. With his length of 23
feetand his weight of 5 tonnes, he's the
most powerful carnivore. In Canada, he
feeds himself with salmons. In Patagonia
or in the under-Antarctic islands, he's
capable of running agroung to catch sea
lions. This is the reason why he is being
called the killer whale. In Tysfjord, he
feeds himself exclusively with herrings.
That is why it is one of the rarest places in
the world where it is possible to swim
safely with him.
Back to the boat. John has located a
group of orcas down the hills of
Skarberget. Leaning himself on the side of
the zodiac boat, he's immersing an
hydrophone. A concert of whistles,
grumblings and clicks echoes in the
hearings. "Even if all the orcas have a
common language, each group gets a
king of dialect perfectly identifiable"
precises John.
Guarantedd thrill for this second diving.
The water seems much colder this time.
From the deeps of the fjord, a dense shoal
of herrings is coming up to the surface.
Female orcas are hunting. They encircling
the herrings, at 65 or 100 feet deep, and
force them to go back to the surface: a
fishing technic called "in carousel". The
herrings starts panicking in foaming of
bubbles. Three orcas are chasing after
them from the depths. We are told to go
back to the boat. Orcs are violently
smashing their preys with their tails to
knock them senseless. The orgy is about
to begin. Tens of fishes are flotting,
half-eaten, orcas are eating greedily their
preys, one by one. Their jaws are full of
impressive teeth. Gulls and pygargues (a
kind of sea eagle) are joining the feast.
For safety reasons, we went up into the
Zodiac boat. One of the divers asks John:
" Are you sure these orcas only eat
herrings ?"

Swimming with orcas

Transcription

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