Orcas Rubbing Beach, British Columbia Live Cam

Orcas come in close to the pebble bottom at Bere Point to rub their bellies, and this underwater camera films them doing it. The site is on Malcolm Island, in Johnstone Strait, off the northern coast of British Columbia.

Beach rubbing is a behaviour recorded only in this part of the world. The northern resident killer whales use a handful of shallow beaches with worn, rounded stones, returning to the same spots across generations.

The hydrophones and cameras belong to OrcaLab, a research station that has monitored the strait since 1970 without capturing or tagging the animals. Visits are seasonal and concentrated in the summer months, so the live picture is often empty water and gravel.