Community Corner

Orca Spotted Near Coronado Islands

An orca was spotted near the Coronado Islands in Mexican waters Thursday, according to San Diego Natural History Museum volunteer Judy Lawrence.

Commonly known as killer whales, orcas are the largest species of dolphins in the world.

The orca was seen during a whale watching excursion with H&M Landing, a partner of the Natural History Museum. 

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The Coronado Islands are in Mexican waters a few miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border and are the namesake of the City of Coronado.

"I was fortunate enough to be on the trip last summer when we saw an orca, so to see one two years in a row just blows me away," she said.

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Blue whales, humpback whales and fin whales can be spotted this time of year off the coast of San Diego and Mexico, Lawrence said. It's not the season for gray whales to be seen in the area.

"I don't want to bad mouth SeaWorld or something, but it's so nice to see these animals in their natural environments as opposed to in a show or a pen or something," she said.

"Part of the whole thing for me is everybody knows about going whale watching during gray whale season [December to April], but a lot of people don't realize we have a lot of opportunities in the summertime to see a whole different set of whales and dolphins," she said. 

Bottlenose, common, pacific whitesided and riffo's dolphins also can be found in waters near the Coronado Islands, she said.

Lawrence has been a whale-watching volunteer for the museum since she moved to San Diego from Sausalito where she worked in a lab for the Marine Mammal Center.

"That really just started that love I have of pinnipeds," she said.

The center focuses on research, rescue and rehabilitation of injured animals.


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