Rare orca sighting off OC coast
Whale watchers in Southern California were recently treated to a rare sight: A pod of orcas, including a calf, swimming about a mile off shore.
The Orange County Register reports that the five orcas, also known as killer whales, were seen near Point Vicente on Saturday afternoon. California Killer Whale Project researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger says the orcas were first spotted by a group of volunteers with ACES/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.
Schulman-Janiger says it is extremely rare to see the Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales in Orange County or further north. She says it is her first time seeing them in 35 years of research.
Marine education specialist Jessica Roame says the orca sighting was one of at least four by area whale watchers since Nov. 30.
