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WATCH: Rare orca sighting off Galveston coast goes viral

Guests aboard the "New Buccaneers" party boat on Galveston Bay encountered a pod of Orcas swimming away from the boat. (Galveston Party Boats, inc.)

GALVESTON, Texas – No, it’s not Sea World, but a group of fishing enthusiasts had an “once in a lifetime” adventure after a pod of orcas rode along with them on a boat.

Sam Harderman, co-captain of Galveston Party Boats wrote in a Facebook post he was about 130 miles out from the Galveston shore when he and several guests on their boat spotted a pod of orcas swimming next them while out on a fishing safari trip.

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Galveston Party Boats told KPRC 2 both Harderman and boat captain Matt Smith were unsure of what they saw at first, so they slowed the boat down to less than half of their current speed to see the orcas breaking away from the boat.

Rare killer whale sighting from the New Buccaneer’s 30-hour trip today! These beautiful creatures put on quite the show - enjoy!

Posted by Galveston Party Boats, Inc. on Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Harderman added he thought the orcas were a mix of pilot and killer whales, but many of them were identified as juvenile orcas.

The Facebook video posted on the Galveston Party Boats page quickly went viral Thursday, capturing attention nationwide.

Orcas such as the species captured on the viral video are known to be endangered, according to NOAA Fisheries. They are found in almost every ocean of the world, including parts of the Gulf of Mexico and scientists are still finding ways to protect these specific types of whales from extinction.


About the Author

A graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown, Ana moved to H-Town from sunny southern California in 2015. In 2020, she joined the KPRC 2 digital team as an intern. Ana is a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, a catmom of 3, and an aquarium enthusiast. In her spare time, she's an avid video gamer and loves to travel.

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