More people at the beach means summer is a great time to spot orca on Northland’s coast, according to international expert Dr Ingrid Visser.
There have been numerous sightings in the last week of orca, also known as killer whales, including sightings in the Bay of Islands on Wednesday, a pod which cleared Waipū Cove on New Year’s Day, and orca at Tūtūkākā Coast and Whananaki on Saturday.
The sightings are not unusual but are enjoyable to watch, said Visser, a marine biologist who founded Orca Research Trust in Tūtūkākā.
“New Zealand is one of the few places where we can regularly see orca that close to the coast. We are very blessed that we have the population of orca called coastal orca for a reason.”
Visser encouraged anyone who spots orca to call Orca Research Trust’s hotline, 0800 SEE ORCA (0800 733 6722), to have the information added to the longest running database for New Zealand orca.
The data can then be added to scientific papers which can help inform protections for orca, she said.
Visser’s research helped the Department of Conservation classify orca from common to nationally critical - the most threatened species in New Zealand - because there are fewer than 200 individuals.
Threats to orca include sewage spills, boat strikes, strandings, habitat destruction and entanglement with fishing nets or pots, she said.
Visser was able to check-in on an orca she helped save from a crayfish pot entanglement in 2014, when watching a pod of orca in Tūtūkākā Coast on Saturday.
When Visser helped the orca, Dian, in 2014, she was so close to death from the entanglement, her two calves were helping push her to the surface to breath.
Visser and her team were able to cut the line and save the orca, in a moment captured by filmmakers from GoPro.
Dian has been spotted several times since but it was nice to see her again, Visser said.
“It’s always an exciting moment to know that your efforts have paid off.”
Meanwhile, an orca spotted from the air swimming on its side at Whananaki was acting perfectly normally and likely just hunting stingray, Visser said.
Whangarei Flying Club member Rusty Russell spotted the orca from his gyrocopter on Saturday and posted his photos on social media, worried the orca might be unwell.
But the orca was likely swimming on its side to get a better view of nearby stingrays, or could have been trying to look up at the gyrocopter, Visser said.
Russell said he has seen many orca from the air but never witnessed them swimming on their side for so long.
It was “pretty cool” to hear the orca was not sick, he said.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.