In a rare return to the Southern California coast, a beloved family of orcas made a few star appearances for whale watchers on Friday.
Lucky viewers got to witness a visit from a mother killer whale and three of her offspring around 9 a.m. off Laguna Beach and then again in the afternoon in Newport Beach, according to Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.
A company representative said this particular pod of orcas is well known among California whale-watching enthusiasts as the CA51 pod is “a family of orcas with a reputation for their playful nature interacting with boats.”
Footage from Friday’s sightings shows Star, the mother, who is about 40 years old, her two sons Orion and Bumper – Bumper is purportedly known for his 6-foot tall dorsal fin and playful behavior around boats – and Star’s daughter, Comet.
These killer whales were last seen on Dec. 15 about 17 miles off the Orange County coast, according to Davey’s Locker Whale Watching, but, before then, the CA51 pod hadn’t been seen locally in around six years.