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Killer whales off Southern California coast

Two killer whales, part of an "offshore" pod of up to 40 orcas, pass a whale-watching boat off Newport Beach. It's not uncommon for the marine mammals to roam Southern California waters in search of sharks and other prey, according to the experts who track and identify them. Seeing them in such numbers, however, is unusual. See full story

Two killer whales, part of an “offshore” pod of up to 40 orcas, pass a whale-watching boat off Newport Beach. It’s not uncommon for the marine mammals to roam Southern California waters in search of sharks and other prey, according to the experts who track and identify them. Seeing them in such numbers, however, is unusual.
See full story  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Whale-watching vessels report seeing 20 to 40 of the marine mammals, also known as orcas, swimming up the coast from Dana Point to Long Beach.

Thrilling spectators, dozens of killer whales were spotted by whale-watching vessels as the orcas made their way along the coast from Dana Point to Long Beach.
See full story  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

One of the huge orcas surfaces near a whale-watching boat as it cruises off Newport Beach. Marine mammal experts said the killer whales may be from an “offshore” population based in British Columbia. They said the orcas travel in massive numbers and prefer to feed on sharks and other prey.
See full story  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Maxine Zermeno, 4, points toward the horizon as she and her father, Mario Zermeno, look for orcas from the Harbor Breeze Cruises boat Christopher out of Long Beach. Experts from the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific were aboard to photograph and identify the whales to assist scientists in studying them.
See full story  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

The “offshore” orcas, which included a large number of males with huge tail flukes and dorsal fins, were last seen close to the Southern California shore in 2005.
See full story  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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