Killer Sight At Sea: Orcas Spotted Off Coast Of San Diego County

OCEANSIDE, CA — Whale watchers aboard an Oceanside Adventures boat encountered a killer sight earlier this month off the coast of San Diego County: a pod of killer whales.

Those aboard the boat spotted five orcas Oct. 6 off the coast of Oceanside. The dolphin and whale watching company captured photos and video of the rare encounter.

"The orcas stayed with the boat to the delight of the passengers for about an hour before traveling down to San Diego, where they were documented again later that day," Donna Kalez, chief operating officer of Oceanside Adventures, told Patch.

Whale expert Alisa Schulman-Janiger confirmed the orcas were Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, Kalez said. She noted that whale watchers at the company last spotted the species in Oceanside in 2018.

"They are from this area and travel from San Diego south to the equator and sometimes as far north as Catalina Island," Kalez said. "So exhilarating to see them!"