A rare type of Antarctic whale is believed to have been seen in Victoria for the first time.
And the rare type C killer whales certainly made it a first sighting, swimming on a pod seen with up to six times the typical number of whales seen together in the area.
Staff and passengers aboard Wildlife Coast Cruises spotted at least 12 eco-friendly Antarctic killer whales swimming on Phillip Island on Thursday afternoon.
The crew saw the rare killer whales well. (Wildlife Coast Cruises)
The cruise company has called the sighting the first sighting of the rare type of whale in Victoria.
Fish-eating killer whales migrate north from Antarctica and have only been seen seven times in Australian coastal waters.
Ben Dickie of Wildlife Coast Cruises said the rare encounter was “a very exciting experience” for everyone involved.
At least 12 killer whales were seen. (Wildlife Coast Cruises) The first documented sighting of type C killer whales in Victoria occurred in Bass Strait on July 14th. (Wildlife Coast Cruises) The pod was much larger than typical pods. (Wildlife Coast Cruises)
It’s just the second group of killer whales his team has seen this season, with crews normally seeing humpback whales.
Dickie said they almost never saw so many whales at once, with the whale pods that passed through the area also usually only contain two to four whales.
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