Dolphins, sharks and manatees are some of the usual sightings off the Florida Keys shore. But earlier in the week, a group of friends fishing off Key Largo encountered something a little more rare — maybe even once-in-a-lifetime.
During the fishing excursion, the group discovered a pod of orcas, also known as killer whales, roughly 20 miles away from Key Largo on July 24. Mike Slaughter began to videorecord the encounter, which instantly went viral on Facebook and Instagram. Footage showed one orca close to the boat, while some orcas briefly surfaced, dipped below the surface and swam toward the boat.
Slaughter said on his Instagram post that the orcas just killed something. The video shows two guys oozing with excitement as they donned snorkeling masks, jumping into the water to get a closer look at the orcas before swimming away.
“Oh, he’s coming right at you. The big boy! He’s looking at you.”
Capt. Bill Chrisman of No Regrets Fishing out of Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina was one of the first to receive the incredible footage from the fishermen.
“I wasn’t even on the boat. They said, ‘Look at that, Billy.’ I said, ‘Send me the video.’ I couldn’t believe it,” Chrisman told Keys Weekly.
According to NOAA Fisheries, the killer whale is the ocean’s top predator. A member of the Delphinidae family, or dolphins, killer whales are found in every ocean in the world.
Killer whale populations are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA estimates around 50,000 killer whales globally. Approximately 2,500 killer whales live in the eastern North Pacific Ocean — home to the most well-studied killer whale populations.
A mammal stock assessment report by NOAA states that sightings have been sporadic of killer whales in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Kirk Linaje, marine scientist, told WPLG that he believes these were Caribbean orcas, which reside in the southeast Caribbean and Lesser Antilles.
This isn’t the first time that Florida has seen an orca this year. In January, a 21-foot, 5,000-pound orca washed up in Flagler County not far from Palm Coast. According to NOAA Fisheries, the older female had signs of various illnesses.
