Hi,

I missed this report when it first appeared,

Cheers,

Vince.

KILLER ORCA SEEN OFF COAST BY FISHERMEN

09:00 - 16 August 2003

A killer whale has been spotted off the south coast of Cornwall by a group
on a fishing trip. While not unheard of, sightings of Orcas, the largest
member of the dolphin family, are rare. Only two have been reported to
Cornwall Wildlife Trust since last summer.
Rob Searle, owner of Falmouth-based Segue Charters, said he was taking six
people on a deep-sea fishing trip on his new vessel Gemini Breeze on
Wednesday.
"We spotted the killer whale about five miles off Portscatho," he said. "It
is the first one I have seen for about 20 years. It was breaching out of the
water and doing a sideways flip. It did that about five or six times."
The Orca's distinctive jet-black, brilliant white, and grey markings make it
relatively easy to identify. Despite their name, killer whales do not harm
people in the wild, and aggression within a pod is rare.
Nick Tregenza, of Cornwall Wildlife Trust, has been studying a theory that
Orcas pray on basking sharks and says he has an eyewitness report of one
such an attack. "They also attack whales bigger than themselves."

From: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk