Killer Sighting: Huge, rare dolphins spotted frolicking in Thai gulf (Video)

Several killer whales spotted in the gulf this past weekend. Photo: Thai Government Public Relations Department
Several killer whales spotted in the gulf this past weekend. Photo: Thai Government Public Relations Department

A magnificently rare sighting of 30 so-called false killer whales in the gulf this past weekend allowed elated tourists to snap photos and admire their beauty up close.

Some lucky travelers were delighted to encounter the animals – which are actually large ocean dolphins and not whales – when their boat tour operator was about to depart Koh Tao’s Sai Ree Beach Saturday morning in Surat Thani province.

Though they were misidentified in a government news release as killer whales, the animals were in fact false killer whales, or Pseudorca crassidens. They are found in oceans worldwide but most prevalent in the tropics.

Surat Thani Gov. Wichawut Jinto said it was the second pod spotted locally since April.

He asked tourists and tour operators who spot the animals not to give chase or get close, for they could become alarmed. Feeding them is also strictly prohibited under wildlife laws.

Called false killer whales for their similar skulls, they also sometimes eat other dolphins like their famously violent cousins. Also like the orcas, false killer whales are considered “near threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Correction: A Thai government news release misidentifying the animals as killer whales was the basis for an earlier version of this story. They were in fact false killer whales.



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