GALVESTON, Texas – No, it’s not Sea World, but a group of fishing enthusiasts had a “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 to them while out on a fishing safari trip.
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.
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.