Irish Naval officers have spotted the largest ever group of killer whales off the coast of Ireland, more than 100 of them have been spotted feeding close to Tory Island.
As many as a dozen killer whales, or orca, were spotted close to an Irish Naval Service vessel on patrol 30 miles off Tory Island late last month.
According to Lt Cmdr Paddy Harkin of the LE Niamh, the killer whales were feeding among large shoals of mackerel that also attracted a large number of fishing vessels. The whales had apparently followed the mackerel from west of the Hebrides in north west Scotland, according to several fishing skippers – who placed their numbers at over 100.
Simon Berrow, Co-ordinator of the Irish Dolphin and Whales Group, said it is the largest aggregation of killer whales to date in Irish waters:
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