National Marine Aquarium identifies footage of Orca sighting in the Plymouth Sound

Staff at the National Marine Aquarium (NMA) in Plymouth were very excited to view some recent footage of a marine animal submitted for identification, with all characteristics suggesting it was an Orca (Orcinus orca) – one of the Toothed Whales called Odontocetes, and the largest species of dolphin.  

As a charity dedicated to connecting us with our Oceans and having just held a national meeting on the future of marine parks around the UK, it was almost perfect timing for an unusual sighting to be secured in the area of water just in front of the aquarium, called the Plymouth Sound.

A local family were out enjoying the perfect weather in the evening of Sunday 3rd June in the sheltered area of water in their kayaks. On many occasions, they had seen large adult male Grey Seals which can be seen around the area, as well other creatures, but were stunned when a much larger animal was sighted.

Neil Wright from Plympton, said “It was much larger than anything I had seen on previous trips out around the Sound, probably at least twice the length of the 2-metre-long Grey Seals I have seen. The height of the dorsal fin is what really stood out but sadly the encounter was over almost before we have chance to really think about what we might have just witnessed.”

Eileen, Neil’s mother, submitted the footage to the NMA via its enquiries e-mail address where it was picked up by Curator, James Wright.

James commented: “Upon first viewing the footage my mind did jump to it possibly being an Orca and what an amazing encounter it would have been to have had. These are amazing marine predators which specialise in many hunting techniques. In theory, they can be found in our waters but one venturing into Plymouth Sound would be quite a surprise.

“Orcas can be found around the British Isles but not in any great numbers, they are normally confined to more northerly areas off the shores of Scotland and the islands of Orkney and Shetland. There has been one record off Plymouth some four years ago, but that was an isolated appearance.

“We did some research and looked at other possible specimens - Bottlenosed Dolphins do come into the Sound and one hung around for quite a while in 2015, but these have very different shaped dorsal fins. The particular individual to visit had a very distinctive dorsal fin and was named “Clet” - it was seen in many places around the UK and Ireland. Common Dolphins can be sighted further offshore, especially by dive boats heading out to Eddystone Reef but these are much smaller animals and usually in groups. One which could fit is a Risso’s Dolphin but at the description of the size it would be a large older individual. As Risso’s Dolphins grow and age, they lighten in colour and develop scarring, which this animal did not seem to have.

“We circulated the footage with some knowledgeable experienced Cetacean experts who all leaned towards this being an Orca.

“We cannot be 100% certain without more definitive footage, especially of the characteristic white markings on the black body, but even if this a sighting of a Risso’s Dolphin in Plymouth Sound is very special.”