A family of killer whales has made a rare trip into waters off downtown Vancouver for what an expert says was likely a 鈥済rocery shopping鈥� hunt for harbour seals.

Video shared on social media by False Creek Ferries shows the whales cruising past highrise towers at the entrance to False Creek on Sunday.

The captain of the ferry, Jack Hemsworth said the passengers on board were stunned as the whales鈥� dorsal fins cut through the surface. He put the engine into neutral as the whales glided by.

鈥淚鈥檝e never been that close, even on like a whale watching tour,鈥� said Hemsworth, adding that at one point, the whales passed within five feet of his little vessel, which was crossing from the West End in Vancouver to Kitsilano Beach.

The boats in the ferry fleet are only about 20 feet long 鈥� smaller than most adult orcas.

Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia鈥檚 marine mammal research unit, has identified the whales as a family group of transient orcas consisting of a mother and her three offspring.

Trites said the video shows the whales moving quietly like 鈥済hosts鈥� to avoid alerting their prey.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e on the hunt, and so they don鈥檛 want to make a big splash about it. They want to come in very stealthy-like, as though they weren鈥檛 even there,鈥� said Trites.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure there were hundreds of people walking along the seawall that day and they didn鈥檛 even notice and these people aboard the boat, they had a very special moment they will remember for the rest of their lives.鈥�

He said it鈥檚 the first time the 26-year-old mother orca, known as T35A, has shown up in downtown Vancouver with her children aged six, 11 and 14.

Trites said the well documented family has previously been seen by marine researchers from Alaska to the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Vancouver Island.

He attributes the pod鈥檚 surprising downtown appearance to seals also changing their habits as they hide from orcas, forcing killer whales to hunt in backwater areas like False Creek.

Killer whales have previously been spotted in False Creek, including in 2019, and in 2010 a grey whale swam all the way to the end of the inlet, near Science World.

Trites said researchers are hearing more reports of killer whales being seen in places where they鈥檝e never been seen before.

He said the behaviour captured on the video suggests the whales didn鈥檛 catch anything.

Trites said the sighting was an indication of the recovered health of the Salish Sea, saying it was 鈥渋n a state that we haven鈥檛 seen it for over a century.鈥�

He likened it to living next to Tanzania鈥檚 Serengeti National Park.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very healthy, vibrant system 鈥� we鈥檝e seen humpback whales come back. We鈥檝e seen our seal numbers recover and stabilize,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e see killer whales here every single day now and when I first came to B.C., I hardly ever saw a seal, never saw killer whales in here and it鈥檚 all changed.鈥�

In 2021, the B.C. government estimated there were 206 鈥渕ature鈥� transient orcas in the province鈥檚 coastal waters, while U.S. authorities have put the total population at about 350.

The species is designated as threatened, meaning they are likely to become endangered without interventions.

But Trites said the population was growing, in association with the recovery of prey species, such as the Steller sea lion.

As a marine researcher who has been through many encounters with killer whales, Trites said those aboard the ferry should feel privileged.

鈥淭hey are magical experiences,鈥� he said.

Hemsworth, who has worked for False Creek Ferries since 2019, agreed.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure they shared all those videos with their friends and family, and it鈥檚 nothing that they鈥檙e gonna forget anytime soon,鈥� he said.