False Killer Whales Off Of Dana Point Coast: Photo Of The Day

DANA POINT, CA — Dana Point whale watchers got a rare sight on Sunday when a pod of about 50 false killer whales was spotted swimming up the coastline. Loriannah Hespe of Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching shot the photos of the false killer whales, which are a type of dolphin.

False killer whales are called as such because of they have a similar head shape to actual killer whales.

The false killer whales were seen in San Diego on Saturday before arriving in Orange County sometime Sunday.

Donna Kalez, chief operating officer of the whale watching company, had this to say about the false killer whales:

The estimated pod of 50 false killer whales were traveling fast up the coast — our boat in Oceanside was able to pick up these amazing fish-eating whales in front of Oceanside at approximately 2:30 p.m. [Whale Watching] Captain Shane had a great encounter and then called the Dana Point boats — Captain Tom White looked for them [Saturday] night on his 4:30 p.m. trip but did not encounter them until [Sunday] at 1:20 p.m. This pod [was] in front of Dana Point Harbor and [it is] very rare indeed and we’re very excited.

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