\u201cIt was crazy to see them so close and realise how big they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The orca were spotted at North Head in Auckland today. Photo \/ Richard Hobbs<\/p>\n
The couple recently returned from a whale and dolphin safari trip in the Bay of Islands, but didn\u2019t see much sealife at all there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to walk along the beach and see an orca literally two metres away was pretty special.<\/p>\n
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe beach got pretty crowded and excited when everyone clocked what was happening.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Project Jonah confirmed it knew of the orca sighting in Takapuna<\/a> this morning.<\/p>\n The organisation is made up of volunteers who aim to protect and help marine mammals through their rescue, action, and protection programmes.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t rare for orca to be seen close to shore, with Project Jonah saying they have swum into the harbour \u201cnumerous times before\u201d.<\/p>\n The orca are just looking for a \u201ctasty treat\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Zealand orcas are the only ones in the world that feed on rays, and rays are shallow coastal animals.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery couple of months, the orca come in quite shallow into the bays and look for rays.\u201d<\/p>\n The organisation gets an average of one orca stranding yearly due to them coming too close to shore, but they are \u201ccomfortable in shallow waters\u201d.<\/p>\n Project Jonah said having these \u201chuge animals come into our city is awesome\u201d, but there are rules around interacting with marine mammals.<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n