Monday, September 17, 2012

Surf's Up!

Quite amazing photos were taken recently, of orcas surfing the wake of a boat off the coast of Mexico.
A fishing company from Loreto, Mexico, runs charters off the Baja Coast. The owner owner Ashley Ross said it was magical to be able to snap the shots they did: "As far as we know this is the first time orcas have surfed the wake of a boat here in Loreto. They never played so closely to us. They usually keep their distance until we turn the engines off. Then they circle the boat and even swim underneath."
The pix in Sydney Morning Herald show the mammals playing in jet bubbles and chasing down a yacht. NZ orca expert Jo Halliday says it's not uncommon for orcas to play in the same way dolphins do because, while commonly called 'killer whales', orcas are actually large dolphins.
While orcas are normally found in cooler waters near both poles and in the Pacific, Halliday says they're quite happy in temperate waters as well.

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