Rare sighting of killer whales off Palos Verdes Peninsula
A group of whale watchers got a rare glimpse Tuesday of a pod of killer whales hunting sea lions off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
About six to nine killer whales were filmed by Harbor Breeze Corp. tour company during a whale-watching trip Tuesday afternoon just south of Point Vicente as the orcas swam through kelp and chased and ate sea lions, according to the American Cetacean Society’s Los Angeles Chapter.
Researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, said on Facebook that the orcas are likely the same whales seen in San Diego on Sunday and in Oceanside this week.
“They are very rarely encountered in California,” she said.
The whales are likely eastern tropical Pacific orcas that traveled from waters south of California.
Orcas are usually seen between November and January, she said.
Through conservation and public education efforts, the American Cetacean Society’s Los Angeles Chapter protects whales, porpoises, dolphins and their habitats.
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