NANTUCKET, Mass. — Scientists from the New England Aquarium spotted four orca whales in New England waters on Sunday.
The sighting happened during an aerial survey 40 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the aquarium said in a social media post.
"According to our scientists, it is unusual to see killer whales in New England waters, let alone four!" the post said.
The four killer whales were among nearly 150 whales and dolphins spotted during the seven-hour flight, according to the aquarium. Other animals spotted during the survey include fin whales, minke whales, humpback whales, and bottlenose dolphins, the aquarium said.
Although orcas are called whales, they're actually the largest of the dolphins, according to National Geographic. As one of the world's most powerful predators, orcas are at the top of the oceanic food chain.
“Initially I could just see two splashes ahead of the plane,” Katherine McKenna, an assistant research scientist who first spotted the whales, said in a press release issued by the aquarium. “As we circled the area, two whales surfaced too quickly to tell what they were. On the third surfacing, we got a nice look and could see the tell-tale coloration before the large dorsal fins broke the surface.”
“Seeing them swim in formation was just unreal,” Orla O’Brien, an associate research scientist who leads the aerial survey team for the aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, added. “We confirmed that there was one adult male, one adult female, and two juveniles in the pod. I think seeing killer whales is particularly special for us because it unlocks that childhood part of you that wanted to be a marine biologist.”
O’Brien said the species’ population is very small in western North Atlantic waters.
The aquarium said the only killer whale seen regularly in North Atlantic waters is “Old Thom,” a large male orca who is known to swim alone, sometimes alongside dolphins, in the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy. He was also spotted alone last Sunday off Provincetown and, prior to that, he was last seen in May 2022 in waters off of Cape Cod, according to the aquarium.
The New England Aquarium said it has conducted aerial surveys over the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket for more than a decade, collecting data on all marine animals with a focus on protected species of whales and sea turtles. These surveys have been funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA, wind energy developers, and private foundations, the aquarium said.
"The flights help monitor changes in animal populations, identify various animal species, and recognize trends using standardized data that has been collected over many years," the release stated. "Determining where right whales occur and how they are using habitats provides crucial information that can be used to better protect the critically endangered species."
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