Two killer whales have been spotted off the Cornish coast.
Experts believe this is the first sighting of the UK’s only resident population of killer whales travelling this far south.
They were spotted on Wednesday by members of Cornwall Wildlife Trust off the west coast, near the Minack Theatre.
The pair, named John Coe and Aquarius, were identified by the shape and notches of their dorsal fins and patches of colouration near their eyes and on their backs.
John Coe is one of two killer whales photographed off the west coast of Cornwall (Will McEnery/PA)
Abby Crosby, marine conservation officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: “Photographs validated the record and identified these rare and beautiful individuals as John Coe and Aquarius.
Killer whale Aquarius off the west coast of Cornwall
Two orcas have been spotted having a whale of a time off the Cornish coast.
Experts believe this is the first sighting of the UK’s only resident population of killer whales travelling this far south.
They were spotted on Wednesday by members of Cornwall Wildlife Trust off the west coast, near the Minack Theatre.
The pair, named John Coe and Aquarius, were identified by the shape and notches of their dorsal fins and patches of colouration near their eyes and on their backs.
John Coe is one of two killer whales photographed off the west coast of Cornwall Credit: Will McEnery/PA
Killer whales spotted near Cornwall coast in rare UK sighting
Sighting of two of UK’s resident orcas is ‘proof of the value of our coastal seas’, says expert
Aquarius, one of two killer whales spotted off the Cornish coast. Photograph: Will McEnery/Cornwall Wildlife Trust/PA
Aquarius, one of two killer whales spotted off the Cornish coast. Photograph: Will McEnery/Cornwall Wildlife Trust/PA
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Thu 6 May 2021 11.17 EDT
Last modified on Thu 6 May 2021 14.25 EDT
Two killer whales have been spotted off the Cornish coast.
Experts believe this is the first sighting of the UK’s only resident population of killer whales travelling this far south.
BBC News
Published
image captionThe killer whale known as Aquarius was spotted off the west coast of Cornwall
The most southerly sighting of the UK s only resident family of killer whales has been made, experts believe.
The two whales were spotted off the west coast of Cornwall on Wednesday in the first confirmed sighting in over a decade, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said.
Killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family.
Marine conservation officer Abby Crosby said the rare and beautiful creatures, also known as orcas, were identified through photographs.
image copyrightWill McEnery
image captionJohn Coe is another member of the Scottish West Coast Community pod of eight orcas