Stunningly close orca encounter includes upside-down greeting
Divers on a spearfishing trip out of San Diego enjoyed an incredible encounter with orcas last Sunday, including an instance in which one of the mammals performed a body roll just feet from their fast-moving boat.
The accompanying footage shows the orca drafting in the 21-foot vessel’s wake before suddenly popping its head up as the boaters react with hoots and laughter. The orca then turns onto its back, without missing a beat, before rolling over and veering off.
Nathan Benge, who posted the footage to <a href="
One of the killer whales “launched clean out of the water,” Benge said, adding that he called the divers aboard and they drove for a closer look.
“After slowly following and only seeing them in the distance, one of the orcas came out of the water again right next to the boat only a few feet away from me,” Benge continued. “We took videos of the show that he gave us over the next 10 minutes.”
A strikingly similar encounter occurred six days earlier off North San Diego County, also involving Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales more commonly found deeper in Mexican waters.
In that instance, likewise, one orca surfaced directly behind a small boat, allowing its captain to pose for the selfie of a lifetime.
ETP killer whales are famously boat friendly. In fact, the orca that surfaced behind the freedivers’ boat last Sunday was among the ETPs that visited north San Diego a week earlier.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, confirmed this on Wednesday, explaining that she completed the match based on photos showing the same distinctive eye patch.
Benge said his spearfishing group, with Capt. Russ Donaldson of Sea Worthy Charters, ended up taking home four quality yellowtail for dinner.
–Images and video courtesy of Nathan Benge