Along the southeastern coast of Australia, it’s not uncommon to see a spout of water shoot up from the waves.
Just below the surface are humpback whales on a grand journey. From June to August, the ocean giants migrate north along the coast, then spend September to November working their way back to southern waters.
What isn’t common is seeing humpbacks accompanied by another titan of the sea.
“We have orca!” Whale Watching Sydney said in an Aug. 28 Facebook post. “Our minds are well and truly blown today with the sighting of a huge orca pod.”
Excited whale watchers took photos and video of the pod as it surrounded humpback whales just a few miles from Curl Curl Beach in Sydney, the group said.
“There was a frenzy of activity and the orca buzzed past the boat in formation, while chasing the humpbacks,” the group said. “The humpbacks were closing together and we assume they may have been protecting a calf but it’s hard to tell with such a flurry of excitement!”
But, after learning where these orcas came from, the group discovered they weren’t on the hunt.
“These are Antarctic type C killer whales … quite a rare sighting! Given this ecotype are fish eaters, they are unlikely to be pursuing the humpbacks as a prey item. They were headed north at the time of the sighting along with the humpback pod,” the group said.
Whale Watching Sydney said seeing any orcas, particularly ones so far away from home, is “incredibly rare,” and they hadn’t been seen in the Sydney area since 2018 . Orcas did make a rare appearance off the coast of Newcastle in May, about 100 miles north of Sydney.
“We feel so lucky to have had such an amazing experience today!” the group said.
Three types of orcas have been identified in Antarctica and are classified as A, B or C based on their pattern and distribution , according to a 2023 study published in The Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.
Type A orcas have a “medium-sized eyepatch” and live primarily in off-shore ice-free water. Type B orcas also have an eyepatch but it is “at least twice as large as in Type A,” and they live mainly close to shore around the continent, according to the study.
Type C, however, has a small eyepatch that slants forward, and these orcas have mostly been spotted off the east coast of Antarctica, closer to Australia, the study said. They have also been recorded feeding exclusively on Antarctic toothfish , which can live in the sea between Antarctica and Australia.
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