Hoax Factor

Killer Orca! Grizzly bear attacked by a monster killer whale? Are killer whales now spawning upstream like salmon and feeding on bears?

Is this Photo shared on The Heart of Vancouver Island's Facebook Page proof that man made climate change is causing whale migration patterns to mimic that of Salmon?

The photo clearly shows an Orca chasing a bear who was clearly minding his own business from a stream located in Alberni Valley.

According to the story posted on the page:

Last spring we received a huge number of photos from Alberni Valley residents showing the annual return of the spawning orcas - a rare annual occurrence unique to this part of the world which sees these huge creatures migrate from ocean to lake and stream. This shot of a mature orca attempting to take down a bear in one of our rivers captures the majesty (and danger) of this special time of year. Have shots of this awe-inspiring phenomenon? Send them into us so we can share them.

As someone who has no formal education in marine biology and the only show watched on Discovery Channel is The Deadliest Catch I decided to investigate this further.

The questions that come to mind when I view this image are:
#1 Do Killer whales migrate?
#2 What's the furthest any killer whale has gotten up lake or up stream?
#3 How crazy would that baby look if that Orca and bear mated?

#1
yes they do!
Apparently the same whales show up off the coasts of British Columbia and Washington every summer, however no one knows where they spend their winters.

#2
Killer whales have been known to swim into freshwater rivvers, they have been documented as going as far as 100 miles inland (160 km) up the Columbia River and have been sighted in the Fraser River in Canada as well as the Horikawa River in japan.
And in local Wal-marts

#3
Mating one apex predator with another = awesome sauce, especially when one of those is a monster fish the size of a bus and has already earned the nickname killer
Internets I give you the Borca..
er...
Bearca?

But back to the image in question. Is it real or a hoax?!!!

Anyone with a single working brain cell and a calendar should have been able to tell that this was clearly a hoax....
As the photo and post in question was made on... wait for it... April 1st!
APRIL FOOLS DAY!
Zoom in on date of post.

However that fact didn't keep the internets from debating the photos authenticity all over Social Media.

But dang... how friggin' awesome would a borca be?!!! Show less