Killer whales spotted in the waters of Wellington's Lyall Bay

A pod of killer whales have been spotted in the waters of Wellington's Lyall Bay.

Wellington resident Jasmine Smith shared a video of the orca to a local community Facebook group after witnessing them in the bay this afternoon.

Smith told the Herald around 4.20pm she looked outside and saw a 6-7 ft shark, and then a few minutes later a pod of six or seven orca appeared.

"They stayed for about 10-15 minutes and on the video you can see that they get what I think was a stingray - you can see the blood," she said.

The video shows the whales swimming close in by the rocks, apparently enjoying a feast on a fever of stingray.

About an hour after seeing the orca, Smith said she saw around 40 stingray on the beach.

The Encyclopedia of New Zealand states that compared to those elsewhere, New Zealand orca have an unusual diet.

Although, like other orca, they consume a variety of food such as fish, squid, dolphins, sharks and seals, they are the only group known to eat stingrays, eagle rays and electric rays as a staple food.

The video has garnered lots of attention on Facebook, with hundreds of people commenting that they wish they could have been there to see the whales.

One commenter poster, "We had Matariki the whale, now we have Labour weekend the whale" in reference to the rare southern right whale that was seen in the Wellington Harbour in July.

The city's Matariki fireworks display was postponed by the council due to the whale's visit.