IN PICS: Orcas found frolicking in False Bay

By Citizen Reporter

Up to seven Orcas were spotted on Sunday in False Bay, and thanks to Simon’s Town Boat Company possessing the necessary permits to go into the waters, the whole encounter was captured.

Photo: Dave Hurwitz/Simon’s Town Boat Company/Facebook

According to the company’s Facebook post, the pod were seen in the deeper waters of Buffels Bay.

Photo: Dave Hurwitz/Simon’s Town Boat Company/Facebook

One male, three or four females and two calves frolicked while seals reportedly took no notice.

Photo: Dave Hurwitz/Simon’s Town Boat Company/Facebook

Simon’s Boat Company said they were lucky enough to be hired by a media house with the correct permits, which meant they got to spend hours watching the killer whales.

Photo: Dave Hurwitz/Simon’s Town Boat Company/Facebook

Killer whale sightings in Cape Town have increased steadily over the years.

This coupled with their insatiable appetite for nutritious shark livers makes for an interesting underwater food chain.

National Geographic reported last year that marine biologist for the Cape Research Centre, Alison Kock, and her team have been documenting two orcas that were eating broadnose sevengill shark livers.

When a number of great white carcasses with seemingly surgically removed livers beached in 2017, the Cape Research Centre flagged the possibility that these could be the latest victims of the deadly orca duo.

Killer whale sightings in Cape Town have increased steadily over the years.

This coupled with their insatiable appetite for nutritious shark livers makes for an interesting underwater food chain.

National Geographic reported last year that marine biologist for the Cape Research Centre, Alison Kock, and her team have been documenting two orcas that were eating broadnose sevengill shark livers.

Orca sightings in Cape Town are still rare events, so each encounter should be treasured, as researchers intensity their research efforts to find out just how many orcas there are in the deep Atlantic waters.

(Compiled by Nica Richards)

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