Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia's 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 "ghosts" to avoid alerting their prey.

A group of orcas surprised travellers on False Creek Ferries Sunday when they surfaced only metres from the passenger boats.

A pod of orcas swam right by the small vessel in False Creek, metres away from Sunset Beach. The captain behind the wheel, Jack Hemsworth, says the boat was just past the Vancouver Aquatic Centre when he noticed three dorsal fins. The whales were within 10 feet of the ferry.