KNYSNA NEWS - A pod of orcas, more commonly known as killer whales, paid the waters between the Knysna Heads and Buffalo Bay a visit last month, much to the excitement of a group of whale watchers.

The sighting occurred on Saturday 25 January when a group of guests onboard an Ocean Odyssey Eco Marine Tour spotted the pod of orcas about 1km off the shores of Buffalo Bay. 

The pod was made up of seven orcas who were cruising the waters most likely in search of prey. According to Lisa Leslie, blogger for Ocean Odyssey it's been a while since orcas were last spotted in the waters around Knysna.

"It has been quite some time since our last orca encounter. On 5 April 2018, we witnessed first-hand the supreme hunting prowess of an orca pod. Over the course of several hours a pod successfully predated on a baby Bryde's whale. Several months later we briefly encountered two mother-and-calf pairs," said Leslie.

Orca sightings in and around Knysna are particularly rare, partly because they are 'transient animals' who tend to travel great distances according to Nelson Mandela University whale researcher Dr Gwen Penry. "They tend to move around a lot," Penry said. "They have been known to travel as far as Namibia on the West Coast while also being known to travel a long way up the East Coast."

Orca sightings in and around Knysna are particularly rare.

Penry noted further that their movement typically depends on the movement of their prey, and the orcas along the South African coastline tend to be "more specialised dolphin hunters".

She also made mention that there is no real rhyme or reason to orca movements, so "it is very difficult to plan any form of research projects to study them", further making it even tougher to predict their movements. 

This is another factor in why orca sightings are rare, as whale watchers are unable to plan ahead.

Even though orcas are commonly referred to as killer whales, they are in fact not even whales, but rather the largest of the many dolphin species that inhabit the world's oceans according to Leslie. 

"An orca is a highly-specialised dolphin, the combination of supreme intelligence, self-awareness, strength, size and the ability to efficiently communicate and hunt as a team, makes them the ocean's most successful predator," Leslie said.'

Even though orcas are commonly referred to as killer whales, they are in fact not even whales, but rather the largest of the many dolphin species that inhabit the world's oceans according to Leslie.We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'