A NSW man and his wife had an incredible – and “lucky” – close encounter with a large pod of killer whales or orcas, on the state’s south coast over the weekend.
Rick Carlson, and his wife, were on their boat watching dolphins and whales cruise the waters off Narooma on Sunday.
While they were onboard they received a call from his part time employer, Narooma Montague Island Adventures, informing him the apex predators were also in the area.
Carlson told 9news.com.au they immediately headed over to the spot to try and catch a glimpse of the large black and white mammals.
“On arrival we immediately caught our first glimpse of the unmistakably large dorsal fin of a killer whale break the surface,” he said.
“My wife and I then were treated to around an hour or the whales swimming around at times right beside the boat.
“Being our first ever sighting we were just amazed at the size and beauty of these animals.
“We also observed a pod of around 12 or more killer whales from a distance, but were unable to get close enough to get any photos.”
Carlson added Killer Whales Australia had positively identified one of the males as EA_0057; an animal regularly sighted off southeast Tasmania.
The “rare” sight delighted onlookers.
Despite what their name suggests, killers whales are actually the largest member of the dolphin family.
They are considered the apex predator of the ocean, but there’s no record of an orca ever killing a human in the wild.
Pod of whales get up close to two paddleboarders
