SUPers get to see some pretty awesome things. They get to see some pretty intimidating things too. Like sharks, for example. But one thing you don’t see too often are SUP encounters with killer whales. It’s a name that almost seems unfitting—especially when you see curious baby whales like the one seen here.
The encounter occurred just 200m offshore in Coromandel, New Zealand. 27-year-old Luke Reilly, owner of Luke’s Kitchen in Kuaotunu, told 3 News, “Someone said there’s some orcas down the beach so I chucked the GoPro in my pocket because I had it surfing. I grabbed it thinking something might happen. I didn’t think I’d get anything.”
Mr. Reilly, who had a similar encounter around this time last year with an orca and its calf, explained that a couple of orcas were diving for stingrays under him when suddenly one came right behind him. “I was a bit nervous thinking, ‘what’s this guy going to do?’ He slowly crept up and grabbed the back of my board and I yelled, ‘What are you doing!'” Mr. Reilly admitted he was a “little bit freaked out”, but realized the baby orca was just being inquisitive.
Floppy Halliday, Co-founder of Whale-Rescue.org, said it’s not uncommon to spot orca whales in these waters this time of year. “It’s just being in the right place at the right time to notice that they’re there,” she said. “There’s no doubt they’re curious. They will spend a lot of time checking you out.”
