Whale watchers in Orange County were taken by surprise when they came across a pod of killer whales swimming alongside their boat. The sighting occurred on a Newport Landing Whale Watching cruise, where around 10 to 13 orcas were observed in Newport Beach on a Monday.
Typically, these orcas are found in the warmer waters around Mexico and Central America. However, they have ventured north towards Southern California, likely due to the unusually high ocean temperatures associated with El Niño.
Newport Landing Whale Watching shared on social media that this particular pod of eastern tropical Pacific killer whales has been spotted in Newport several times in the past few years—specifically in 2018, 2023, 2024, and now 2026.
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the lead biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, identified four mothers from the pod: Ana, Baja Nicki, Top Notch, and Kali, along with other individuals like Cookie and Coronado. The organization has been tracking these whales since 1987, focusing on population dynamics and their predatory behavior.
Interestingly, the El Niño phenomenon has led to more than just killer whale sightings. Recently, an endangered species of sea turtle made headlines in Orange County by laying eggs in two separate nests far outside its usual habitat.
Additionally, in August, a massive hammerhead shark was spotted near Malibu Pier, marking the first sighting of its kind in Southern California in nearly a decade.
