“It’s one of those moments where you see the full circle of life on the reef.” Baby killer whale stuns Australian pilot

The pilot of a sightseeing flight charter was surprised when she came across a family of seven killer whales, including a new baby, off the coast of Exmouth in Western Australia’s north-west cape.

This is the first calf they have seen in the area in three years.

Tiffany Klein, chief pilot at Ningaloo Aviation – and aerial spotting specialist – had just finished searching for whale sharks (Ningaloo is home to one of the largest groups in the world, with around 600 of these endangered sharks visiting each year) and was keeping her eyes open watching for pygmy blue whales when she saw the orcas. “The calf immediately stood out because it was much smaller than the rest of the group,” she says.

Seeing a calf is always special, but the excitement of this sighting was heightened because it was the first baby they had seen at Ningaloo Reef in three years. She says: “It was one of those moments where you see the full circle of life on the reef and now we may have another regular visitor within this orca family.”

Klein managed to capture a series of breathtaking photos of the family with their new arrival, which were shared on Facebook.

Orcas are most often seen off the coast of Ningaloo, Western Australia, during winter and spring, when the humpback whale migrations and calving season bring more prey (baby humpback whales) to the area for the orcas.

At other times of the year, when the orcas forage over larger areas of the ocean, sightings are less frequent, but still happen. “For most of the last 15 years, we have been making observations during most of the summer and fall months,” said marine researcher John Totterdell, an expert on Ningaloo’s orca population.

But seeing this baby is remarkable. “The most recent calves of the local orca families have been lost – so this is an incredibly positive sign,” says Totterdell, adding that they will be keeping a close eye on this group.

With more than 12,500 kilometers of coastline (20,000 including islands), Western Australia is a haven for marine life. About 1,200 kilometers north of Perth, Ningaloo Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to humpback whales, Omura’s whales, minke whales, manta rays, rays, dugongs and turtles, as well as whale sharks and orcas. “If it’s there, we’ll see it – it will be a daily reminder of why Ningaloo is a World Heritage-listed fringing reef,” says Klein.

In her role as pilot and spotter, Klein has the amazing job of finding these species from the air and sharing them with passengers or guiding boats to their location. “The reaction when someone sees an animal for the first time is something that will never get old,” she says.

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