Valdes Peninsula: why is it one of the best times of the year to watch orcas?

Even though Orcas live all year round in Valdés Peninsula, a biodiversity and natural life reservoir declared UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, two times of the year are especially favourable to watch them and witness their distinctive behaviour. One of them occurs between the end of March and May, in front of the Punta Norte coasts, where they practice intentional beaching to hunt sea lions’ and elephant seals’ pups rushing themselves out of the sea. They repeat this practice in Caleta Valdés between September and the beginning of December.

Orcas belong to three families led by a female that are in charge of pups’ nurturing and breeding. There are also some specimens that move on their own. They live between 50 and 80 years, and males can be up to 9 metres long while females, 6 metres long. At 12 years of age, they reach their sexual maturity, and their pregnancies last 17 months with only a pup at a time. The best time to observe their behaviour is when the sea is quiet, that time frame around the peak of high tides.

Both Punta Norte and Caleta Valdés have accessible trails and viewpoints for locals and tourists approaching the area. Worldwide camerapeople and photographers come to record this unique and distinctive behaviour of orcas.

Provincial Day of Orcas

Last year, the Provincial Day of Orcas was established on every March 16th. Why was this date chosen? Because the last time Mel, the most famous orca, was seen on these coasts was on March 16th of 2011. Its fame dates back to 1974, when Juan Carlos López, Punta Norte’s wildlife warden, stopped by to watch Orcas’ behaviour. Mel and Bernardo were the first two male orcas to be identified, and they practised beaching tactics until 1993, when Bernardo disappeared. Mel went on visiting the coasts alone and ended up being the world’s most famous orca, after the National Geographic and BBC crews filmed him.