• 'Simply breathtaking': Orca seen on "surf patrol" along Napier coast

'Simply breathtaking': Orca seen on "surf patrol" along Napier coast

A pod of orca spotted in Hawke Bay yesterday is most likely a mother orca, with her adult male offspring and a calf, Orca Research Trust founder and Principal Scientist, Dr Ingrid Visser says.

Dr Visser said it is "very normal" for orca to be spotted in this region. "This is just what they do, they travel along the coastline looking for food," she told Hawke's Bay App.

She said the tail lifting captured in one image identifies the orca as an adult male, while another orca pictured in the surf zone is an adult female. 

 

 

"They're just doing what we call surf patrol, patrolling right along the edge of the surf line."

She said how long they stay in one area depends on the individual and on the day. "My suspicion looking at the behaviour of these animals is they were just travelling, hunting as they travel." 

There are fewer than 200 orca around the whole of the New Zealand coastline. However, Dr Visser says it is "quite normal" for the top predator to have few animals. She said it was nice to see them "not being harassed by boats". 

They're in their hunting season and it is a standard thing for them to do." 

The arrival of the killer whales' drew many locals to catch a glimpse for themselves. For Napier mother Jude Wakely, the chance encounter was "simply breathtaking" for her and her 14-year-old daughter Mollie. 

"I was sitting in my car waiting for my daughter for school pick up at the bottom of Coote Road when one large fin caught my eye with a little fin close by pop up and straight back down. I watched it there for about five minutes, then they headed south quite quickly."

She said it was "quite magical" to see them and try to anticipate when and where they would re-surface. 

"When [Mollie] arrived she was so impressed then another large one surfaced about 30m in front of the other two and much much closer to the shore." Although, she says her daughter thought she was "mad" when she told her to "run to the car" to follow the pod down the beach.

They drove down Marine Parade and parked up by the children’s playground where the whales were "perfectly placed" right in front of them.

"One large one was very close to crashing waves, the other two further out to sea. They move really fast. Mollie was able to spot air bubbles in the water so knew where they would resurface to could get a picture."

They spent a good 25 minutes, until about 3.50pm, watching in awe. 

"It was simply breathtaking. They were so graceful and huge". 

For more free local news head to www.hbapp.co.nz

 

Tags