'Fantastic' moment as orcas spotted off Dingle coast

Orca~ Killer Whale spotted in Dingle Bay on Monday afternoon. Picture: Dingle Sea Safari facebook - by Rosie Hayward

Visitors onboard a boat tour in Dingle earlier this week witnessed a spectacular moment when a fleet of orcas, better known as Killer Whales, was spotted in the water nearby.

Jimmy Flannery, company director of Dingle Sea Safari, says the orcas have been visiting Dingle for the past 30 years, having last come to the town “a year to the day last year”, before Monday’s encounter.

The whales, from the oceanic dolphin family, are known to pay a visit to the seaside town every year or two.

Despite these regular visits, Monday’s adventure was only the second time the Dingle tour company has come across the creatures whilst on a boat trip, making the encounter extra special.

“This time they were around a bit longer because they were feeding in the bay and they took their time leaving.

"So five or six of the trips actually did get to see them, which is really uncommon. Normally, one of the boats might see a glimpse of them for ten minutes, and then they're gone,” he added.

Touching on the moment, Mr Flannery said it was “fantastic” to see them again, grateful the creatures were in “healthy condition”.

With very few reports of the animals harming humans, Mr Flannery said he doesn’t believe they would “attack people in the water on purpose”.

“They're like any animal if you're not going to respect what they're doing, they're going to snap,” he added.

Elsewhere in the county, a 50-tonne whale was found at Baile Uí Chuill Strand, Ballinskelligs having washed up overnight on Saturday.

The disposal of the whale is proving difficult, with towing the whale out to sea, burial on spot, leaving it where it is or burning it all options for disposing of the male.