Focus on one of the world's greatest predators

IT IS a dramatic sight few are lucky enough to witness – a spectacular display of raw power from one of nature's most deadly predators.

But for wildlife photographer Rolf Hicker, who has spent the past 15 years photographing the 80 resident orcas off the coast of Vancouver in Canada, it has become almost commonplace.

So much so that Hicker has developed a close understanding of the magnificent creatures enabling him to capture these dramatic shots.

His pictures provide such a detailed document of the killer whales' behaviour they have been used by researchers studying the creatures.

"There is hardly anything more beautiful than experiencing the whales in a small boat and the engine off," he said.

"It is incredible to look a whale in its eye when its head emerges from the waves to check us out – amazing."

Hicker said the key to capturing a good photograph of the killer whales is taking time.

"When you are photographing orcas the main thing you need is patience as you have to wait till they approach you," he said.

"In order to get good pictures you need to be always ready, I always have one eye glued on the viewfinder while the other eye is searching for signs like blows or special activities."

The 42-year-old said over time he has learned to be able to predict the next move of the orcas, so he can capture the killer shot.

"My experience helps me to stabilise my body on the always moving boat, experience kicks in to make it easier to predict what the orca's next move would be," he said.

These photographs were taken off northern Vancouver Island, where as well as the resident orcas, transient killer whales can also be seen.

Hicker has come to know the traits of the different types of killer whales.

He said the resident orcas travel in large groups and visit beaches where they rub on pebbles and eat salmon.

Transient orcas arrive occasionally to hunt, and offshore orcas only come near land very rarely.

"When they are seen it is quite a sight and you can see a groups of up to 80 feeding on marine mammals as well as fish and even sharks," said Hicker.

His pictures are used by researchers who study their unique dorsal fins in order to catalogue populations.

"All orcas have unique saddle-patches and dorsal fins – they are catalogued that way, beside their languages which are unique too to each orca family."

FACT BOX

THE orca is also known as the killer whale and is the biggest species of the dolphin family.

Sometimes called the blackfish or seawolf, it lives in all the oceans, from the Arctic and Antarctic to warm, tropical seas.

Orcas are not fussy about what they eat, with many feeding mostly on fish and others preferring large sea mammals, such as sea lions and even whales.

Orcas are sociable creatures, with many living in family groups.

They display such sophisticated hunting techniques, social behaviour and vocal sounds that it has been claimed these traits are manifestations of culture.

Killer whales are not endangered as a whole, but some individual populations are threatened due to pollution, depletion of prey species, conflicts with fishing activities and vessels, habitat loss and whaling.

Orcas are not usually a threat to humans, but there have been isolated reports of captive killer whales attacking handlers.

The largest recorded was a male caught off the Japanese coast, measuring 32ft and weighing more than eight tonnes.