Watch: Rare Orca Pod Spotted Hunting Off Newport Beach Coast

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Whale watchers were treated to a display of a lifetime off the Southern California coast Thursday when a seldom-seen pod of orcas hunted dolphins.

Passengers aboard Davey's Locker whale watching boats spotted the orca pod — dubbed as the CA56 pod — feasting on a dolphin off Newport Beach at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday

According to Davey's Locker Whale Watching Spokesperson Jessica Rodriguez, the pod of killer whales was a seldom-sighted pod of Biggs Transient Killer Whales. This sighting is believed to be the furthest southern documented sighting of this pod.

"When the Ocean Explorer approached the pod, they looked like they had just killed a common dolphin, as there was a carcass in the water and one whale had something in its mouth," Rodriguez told Patch.

Rodriguez said that as the tour went on, passengers witnessed a hunt — as the killer whales approached an unsuspecting pod of common dolphin.

"The orcas chased out a single small mom and calf from the other dolphins, and seemed to allow the youngest baby orca of the pod to practice hunting while the older orcas hung back and watched," Rodriguez said. "Likely this was a teaching moment for the young whale, and a first-hand lesson in hunting, since they had just eaten a common dolphin hours before."

The pod is considered to be a type of "transient" orca, which means they hav ea large range they cover between southeast Alaska to the Mexico border and primarily feed on marine mammals like small dolphins. They will also hunt and eat other whales, hence the moniker: "Killer whale.

To learn more about tours offered by Newport Landing & Davey's Locker Whale Watching, visit the agency's website.