John Coe and Aquarius, two male killer whales of a soon-to-be-extinct group, have been recently sighted

Killer whales spotted off Donegal Bay(Image: Rossnowlagh Surf School)

Two members of a possibly soon-to-be-extinct killer whale group have been sighted in Donegal Bay.

John Coe and Aquarius of the West Coast Community of killer whales were confirmed to be spotted yesterday.

“Every confirmed sighting of these remarkable animals helps us better understand their movements and contributes to their long-term conservation,” ORCA Ireland wrote in a Facebook post.

Comments under the post are celebrating the sighting.

One user said that they had seen “these 2 in the distance while surfing near Lislarry, near Streedagh. About this time of year, maybe 8 or 9 years ago.”

Another wondered “what direction are they travelling?”

Killer whales spotted off Donegal Bay(Image: Tara Kellet/@DonegalBayTrust)

The two “legendary boys”—as labelled by another commenter—are feared to be the last remaining survivors of this particular group. Originally, there were four females and four males, with a calf named Lulu born but found dead and stranded with alarming amounts of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in her.

Recently, only John Coe and Aquarius have been seen in Irish and UK waters, giving weight to the theory that they really are the last of their kind.

The West Coast Community orcas are said to be distinguished by their “unusual sloping eye patch and larger size.”

ORCA Ireland says they’ll share “the incredible story of John Coe and Aquarius, why they are so important, and what their return to Irish waters means for marine conservation” as part of ORCA Month.

One conservation group, The Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust (HWDT) based on the Isle of Mull, has been contributing to such marine conservation by keeping track of the West Coast Community and their sightings since 1992.

Any sighting, ORCA Ireland claims, helps to build understanding of Ireland’s marine wildlife.

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