Killer whales' mackerel drive witnessed by hundreds
June 2012. An exceptionally close encounter with a group of five Orcas by hundreds of visitors and locals at Thurso and Scrabster was the dramatic return of well documented pod.
Karen Munro, from Scrabster, who has recorded sightings for Sea Watch for seven years, said: "I have never even seen harbour porpoises that close in to the harbour. The water in the harbour was said to be ‘boiling' when the killers passed Thurso. There were also lots of gannets and other fish eating birds around so we think they were driving a shoal of mackerel before them!"
Karen was first alerted to the group by her stepson, a local lifeboat man, who had seen them in Dunnet Bay. She followed the group - a sub adult male, two females, a juvenile and a calf - along the coast around Thurso to Scrabster.
Just 5 metres from the shore
At one point the group was in the surf just 5m from the coastline, at another it was swimming through a group of yachtsmen and women from the Pentland Yacht Club, and at another it was so close into the harbour that hundreds were able to stand and watch.
Karen said: "The harbour was busy with holidaymakers and locals and there was a real sense of excitement. We have heard of killer whales so close in to the shore in the Shetlands, but they have never been this close in to the mainland here. I have been watching killer whales in Caithness since 2006, but this was really exceptional!"
Known orca
She sent her photos to Dr Andy Foote, who compiles records of killer whale sightings for the North Atlantic Killer Whale Project and he was able to confirm from distinctive ‘saddleback' and fin markings of two in the group that they are numbers 72 and 73 in his catalogue, and are always seen together in the group of five.
Sea Watch Director, Dr Peter Evans said: "Identifying these killer whales is extremely important in helping scientists to understand numbers and the strength and health of populations, their behaviours and their movements. The more we know about them, the better we can conserve our marine animals.
"We always welcome pictures of whales, dolphins and porpoises from around the coast and will help to identify what has been seen. Pictures of fins are often the most reliable way to identify whether individuals have been seen before, although in the case of killer whales a shot of the flanks is very useful as the saddle patch can vary also in shape and size."
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