{"id":391934,"date":"2026-01-06T22:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/391934\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T22:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:36:09","slug":"very-unique-pod-of-killer-whales-seen-rubbing-bellies-on-rocks-off-b-c-s-sunshine-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/391934\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Very unique\u2019: Pod of killer whales seen rubbing bellies on rocks off B.C.’s Sunshine Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A pod of orcas surprised people on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast by swimming close to shore and rubbing their bellies on the rocks. <\/p>\n

Ryan Chilibeck lives in Gibsons, across Howe Sound from West Vancouver, and on Jan. 2 heard that killer whales were swimming by Secret Beach Park.<\/p>\n

He rushed out the door to try to catch a glimpse of them. <\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily enough, I just got to the right place at the right time and got an amazing show,\u201d Chilibeck said. <\/p>\n

\"TwoPhotographer Carl Olsen saw a group of six northern resident killer whales passing Gospel Rock in Gibsons on Jan. 2. (Submitted by Carl Olsen)<\/p>\n

A group of people formed on the beach, watching in silence as the pod of orcas swam back and forth for 20 minutes just feet from the shore. <\/p>\n

\u201cI picked my jaw up off the ground, it was once-in-a-lifetime type of stuff,\u201d Chilibeck said. <\/p>\n

The group of whales has been identified as northern resident killer whales (NRKW) and the A5 pod, which comprises three different families, according to Jared Towers, the executive director of Bay Cetology. <\/p>\n

WATCH | Orcas seen displaying unique behaviour:\"\"<\/p>\n

Pod of killer whales seen rubbing bellies on rocks off Sunshine Coast, B.C.<\/p>\n

A group of lucky people got to ring in the new year with a wildlife encounter on the Sunshine Coast, B.C. As CBC\u2019s Alanna Kelly reports, a pod of orcas were seen engaging in a unique behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmongst all the different killer whale populations around the world, there’s only a couple that have been observed doing this behaviour,\u201d Towers said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very specialized, very unique, it\u2019s not that common.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pebbles on the beach have to be just right for the northern resident killer whales to use, and the A5 pod are known to like the ones on the Sunshine Coast. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re the only ones that know these spots and use them,\u201d Towers said. <\/p>\n

\"APeople watched the whales swim back and forth rubbing their bellies on the pebbles at Secret Beach Park on Jan. 2. (Submitted by Ryan Chilibeck)<\/p>\n

Rubbing their bellies against the smooth rocks feels good for the whales and can aid in exfoliation. <\/p>\n

\u201cKiller whales have very active skin, so their skin is sloughing all the time, rubbing their bodies on rocks like these smooth pebbles, it may help them expedite that exfoliation,\u201d Towers said. <\/p>\n

Community connects over whale sightings <\/p>\n

Chilibeck wouldn\u2019t have known about the whales if it weren’t for a local Facebook group that shares sightings of whales. <\/p>\n

\u201cI’m probably the world’s number one orca fan, so this is a big deal for me, for sure,\u201d Chilibeck said. <\/p>\n

He was mesmerized by how the marine mammals moved through the water. <\/p>\n

\"AAmong the whales in the pod was Surge, also known as A61, who is believed to have been born in 1994, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (Submitted by Carl Olsen )<\/p>\n

\u201cJust how big they were when they were swimming along.\u2026 I think was, was probably one of the things I’ll take away the most,\u201d Chilibeck said. <\/p>\n

Glenda Sewards runs the Facebook group with the hopes of sharing sightings so everyone can enjoy them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen everybody in the community will have a chance to see these magnificent creatures,\u201d Sewards said. <\/p>\n

She created the group more than 10 years ago after spotting whales from her back deck in Langdale. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really not that [much] work, it\u2019s more joyful than anything else to see the community loving this and getting so excited about it,\u201d Sewards said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-391934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}