Rare orca pod filmed swimming close to California shores

A pod of orcas was filmed swimming close to the California coast in a rare sighting.

Footage posted by the Channel Islands National Park on Wednesday, 6 March, shows some of the huge marine mammals breaching the water's surface close to San Miguel Island across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean.

The park said a ranger was patrolling the waters expecting to see the usual elephant seals and sea lions at Point Bennett, but he was surprised to find unusual still water and silence before spotting a huge orca.

The male, which had a black 5-foot-tall dorsal fin, was accompanied by six other orcas including a calf which surfaced behind him, the park said.