Experts say abnormal water temperatures are bringing in unique wildlife
Newport whale watchers were in for a surprise this Monday when a pod of 10 to 13 killer whales breached the surface off the coast of Orange County.
Unlike blue whales, finback whales, gray whales, and humpback whales, which are all common off the Southern coast of California depending on the season, Killer Whales are considered a rarity.
This specific pod of killer whales was identified by Newport Landing Whale Watching as a group that normally hunts off the coast of Mexico and Central America. The pod is most likely up north due to warming waters, as the pod was last seen in the area in 2023 and 2024, during the previous El Niño season.
“The fact that these whales hung around during ’23-’24 so many times makes this particularly exciting for our crew, who hope to encounter them again along our coast,” said Jessica Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Davey’s Locker & Newport Landing Whale Watching in Newport Beach.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the lead biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, recognized the four mothers of the pod, Ana, Baja Nicki, Top Notch and Kali, along with other whales like Cookie and Coronado. The California Killer Whale Project has been collecting data on these animals since 1987, focusing on long-term population studies and predation patterns.
Killer whales aren’t the only marine animal sightings this El Niño season. Recently, two sea turtle nests were discovered in Southern California, belonging to the endangered olive ridley sea turtle, and a hammerhead shark was spotted a mile from Laguna Beach in late August.