A group of whale watchers off the coast of San Diego were thrilled Saturday when they saw a rare, loan, teenage killer whale palling around with some dolphins. This was the second time the rare orca was seen in three days.
The people whale watching on the boat started snapping pictures as fast as they could. The whale seemed to like the attention he was getting. Passengers on board the boat said to their local NBC station, as soon as "Mel" heard the boat's engine he swam over to get a better look.
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"Mel" swam circles around the boat, going underneath it and surfacing to the joy of the spectators. Melissa Galieti is a photographer for San Diego Whale Watch and told NBC she and the passengers had been searching for "Mel" all morning. It is rare for a young killer whale to be separated from their pod. Especially the males who spend their entire lives with their mothers.
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Around 10:45 Galieti said the crew and passengers spotted "Mel." They were surprised to see the large orca playing and swimming with a pod of over 1,000 dolphins. Wild dolphins are a much more common sight in that area than orcas.
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Galieti told NBC "Mel" was the first orca she had ever seen and the crew decided to nickname the killer whale after her. "Mel" is the only killer whale to be seen in the waters off San Diego. It is believed he swims up from Mexico every once in a while.
"It's just not a normal occurrence for our area. He's coming up from an area in Mexico. That's where his pod, or possibly a pod that has adopted him, is located. He's been seen about 120 miles south of San Diego and he's come up here a couple times on his own," Galieti said to NBC.
"Mel" is believed to be in his teens and is estimated to weigh between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds. Currently his length is believed to be 16 or 18 feet long. When fully grown the orca could reach up to 30-feet in length.
Killer whales have been in the news a lot lately, ever since the documentary "Blackfish" hit select theaters in the US. "Blackfish" is the story of a 12,000-pound orca named Tilikum currently living in captivity at SeaWorld, Orlando.
In 2010 Tilikum was responsible for the death of a senior trainer at SeaWorld. The whale grabbed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau by the arm and dragged her into his pool. Tilikum then proceeded to violently shake, thrash and ram Dawn, killing her.
"Blackfish" takes a look at Tilikum's life from capture to today in the hopes to figure out why Dawn was killed. The documentary is heartbreaking and powerful. When you leave the theater you'll be asking yourself if orca captivity is truly an ethical practice.
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