VIDEO: Dream come true: orcas wow onlookers with Victoria Inner Harbour visit
Published 11:15 am Friday, May 1, 2026
Scrolling through social media, Amy MacCutchan’s heart stopped. A rare opportunity to realize a long-awaited dream had presented itself.
The Victoria resident has often seen whales from shore, but never up close.
So when a pod of orcas meandered their way into Victoria’s Inner Harbour Thursday afternoon (April 30), MacCutchan knew what she had to do.
“It was easy to predict that they’d have to come back out, so I booked it for Ogden Point and saw the people starting to gather at the end of the point,” she said.
The planets aligned for MacCutchan, the perfect parking space opening up for her just in time for her to join the group of admirers on the Breakwater.
“To be honest, I might have considered parking illegally for this opportunity,” she jokes. “A parking ticket would be a literal small price to pay for this experience.”
With her 12-year-old child Charlie by her side, the pair sprinted towards the magic – a dream come true.
“It was very emotional, I’ve been beaming ever since,” she said.
The six visitors were identified as the T049As by Prince of Whales operations manager Traben Fischer, who said the orcas are a common transient pod often seen in Vancouver Island waters.
Among the whales was 15-year-old male Nat, T49A3, said Fischer, who caught the pod in the harbour on video.
Despite working in the whale watching industry, catching sight of the marine mammals never gets old. Something demonstrated by his reaction caught on video.
“Are you kidding me? Oh my god, they’re coming all the way in,” he says before gasping as one whale surfaces to take a breath.
Kyle Munro, who works for FRS Clipper, also captured the action in the harbour. His video shows the orcas approaching a docked Prince of Whales vessel in the harbour, with people on deck not having to go far to witness the animals in the wild.
Working in the harbour, whales have become a common sight for Munro.
“I’m lucky enough to see them once or twice a year,” he said.
Among the lucky few at the Breakwater was Lea Gouillardon, who last year volunteered with wild orca project OrcaLab.
“I really enjoy seeing them all the time,” she said. “It was great, they hung out for almost 20 minutes, going back and forth. It was really nice, and everyone was so amazed.”
The April 30 wildlife spectacle is believed to be the first documented Inner Harbour orca visit of the year.
Last year, visits from Bigg’s killer whales to Victoria’s Inner Harbour and shoreline became a familiar sight throughout 2025.
Experts believe the increase in sightings is likely tied to an abundance of “easy-picking” harbour seals, which draw the predatory whales into the busy downtown waters.