Two pods of orcas, one of them including a rare white orca, put on a show off the coast of California’s Catalina Island last month, and the footage has gone viral. Mark Girardeau, a nature photographer based in southern California, captured and shared the video to his Instagram account.
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The footage shows orcas hunting dolphins, leaping from the water, and swimming together as a group. Girardeau managed to capture drone footage of the nature show, including close-up clips of orcas coming up to the surface for air.
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“Killer whales off Catalina Island!” he wrote in his Instagram post sharing the video. “This consisted of two pods [. . .]. We were lucky enough to spend several hours with them as they traveled west along the front side of the island.”
Girardeau notes that the “white orca,” also known as Frosty, has a genetic condition called leucism. The National Park Service defines leucism as the partial loss of all types of pigmentation. “Leucism causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on the skin or fur,” NPS says.
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Watch orcas put on a show off the coast of Catalina Island here:
Header stock image by Dan Antoche-Albisor/Getty Images
