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Videos: Watch Rare Pods of Orcas Frolicking, Hunting Sea Lions Off the Coast
Photo by @DanaWharf via twitpic
Orcas are showing up off the coast from Palos Verdes all the way to Dana Point to the delight of whale-watching tours.
It's not weird for orcas to show up in Southern California seas, but it is unusual for them to show up around here in such large numbers. Whale experts told the Los Angeles Times that the pod of whales that showed up this week might be from an "offshore" population from off the coast of British Columbia. The last time offshore orcas showed up was in 2005.
"We don't really know where they go or where they come from," Kera Mathes, education specialist and whale research biologist for the Aquarium of the Pacific, told the Times. "We just see them every couple of years."
We've brought you a round-up of videos of orcas from the last two weeks. This video taken on a whale-watching tour includes underwater footage of the orcas shot through the boat's glass bottom:
This video includes footage of orcas tearing apart a sea lion:
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This video features orcas doing some upside-down swimming and a very playful calf:
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