SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A rare pod of orcas has been spotted multiple times off the coast of San Diego — and they were hunting dolphins.
Legacy Whale Watching captured video of the Eastern Tropical Pacific orca pod, which is considered among the least-studied orca pods in the world.
“We usually only get to see them about once a year; this time we got to see them three times within the span of about five days,” said Evin Rose, a naturalist and alumna of Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Nicole Schriber, a UCSD Scripps Oceanography graduate who works with Gone Whale Watching in San Diego, said the pod was last seen heading toward Mexico. It remains unclear whether the whales will return to Southern California waters, in an email statement.
“We are hoping for more sightings this fall and winter because of the El Niño,” Schriber said. “But we can’t say for sure! If you want to see these Orcas, you can’t really make plans for it; it’s a situation where you see the sighting report and rush to the boat that same day for a chance.”
The orcas have been targeting local dolphin populations, not humans.
“They’ve been hunting our common and bottlenose dolphins offshore,” said Rose.
While experts say there is no cause for alarm, they advise against entering the water near the animals.
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