Four orcas have been sighted swimming near the border of Dutch and UK national waters.

Observers of Stichting Rugvin Dorsal Fin Foundation - an organization which carries out research into the cetacean population of the North Sea - on board a ferry sailing from Hook of Holland to Harwich spotted the group of orcas. Last week, the animals were sighted near the French port of Calais. It is not clear if these were the same animals but it is thought likely as they were swimming north.

A spokesperson for Stichting Rugvin says the orcas appeared to be in good shape. Orcas are only rarely sighted in the North Sea. Last year, a young female orca was spotted in the Wadden Sea. She was in a very weak condition and is now staying at the Dolfinarium in the town of Harderwijk.

Stichting Rugvin says it is too early to say whether the sightings of orcas in the North Sea are more than merely incidental. “The cetacean population has changed. The number of porpoises has gone up while sightings of the white-beaked dolphin have become rare. Each month, Stichting Rugvin publishes a report on the cetacean population in the North Sea between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

gsh