Scientific name: Orcinus orca
Irish name: An Chráin dhubh
Diet: Carnivore
Size: Up to 9m for males, 7.9m for females
Tips on how to find them: Tallest dorsal fin of any cetacean; unmistakable white underside and patch behind eye; may be seen from land as they prefer to hunt in shallow waters; most commonly seen from May-September.
The two orcas seen during my family’s whale watching trip in 2022, named John Coe and Aquarius, are both considered old for orcas and are believed to be the last remaining members of the ‘West Coast community’ of orcas. John Coe (the one with the notch on his dorsal fin as seen in the photo) was first spotted in the early 1980s when he was already sexually mature. These two males were later featured in an episode of BBC’s Autumnwatch in 2022 (the last such programme before it was axed in 2023), much to our surprise.
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