Several orca whales seen hunting off coast of Palos Verdes

Orca whales spotted off SoCal coast hunting

Ten orca whales were seen hunting a gray whale, dolphins and sea lions off the coast of Palos Verdes.

LOS ANGELES - It was another rare whale sighting… 10 Eastern Tropical Pacific Orca Whales were spotted off the coast of Palos Verdes.

Captain Tyler Askari, with Harbor Breeze Cruises, says the orcas, also known as killer whales, were hunting a gray whale, dolphins and sea lions. He says the Gray Whale escaped with a chunk of its tail bitten off.

The orcas were seen by passengers aboard M/V Triumphant, which departed Long Beach around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Askari says this is the seventh time since Dec. 11 that they've seen the whales during their tours.

Several killer whales were also spotted on Christmas weekend in Orange County.

Experts say Eastern Tropical Pacific Killer Whales are normally found in the waters off of Mexico and are not seen this far north, let alone seen this many times in a matter of weeks.