Why are more Orcas being spotted off Northumberland?
Boat tour operators say they spot pods of orcas much more often recently.
- Published
Visitors, business owners and whale watchers in the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, have reported increased sightings of orcas - also known as killer whales.
The black and white giants of the dolphin family were rarely seen in the waters around the the north-east of England, but in recent years have been seen far more often.
Dolphin and porpoise sightings are also becoming more frequent according to local sources.
But scientists aren't exactly sure why this might be, although they do have theories.
Read on to find out more.
Scientists say that if big predators returning to an area, that's a good sign of a healthy ecosystem.
One idea suggested by Dr Conor Ryan, an honorary research fellow at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, is that the waters around the British Islands are becoming healthier.
When an ecosystem is healthy, with plenty of plants, animals and tiny organisms around, it creates a good environment with enough food for species to thrive including the top predators like the orcas.
But Julia Sutherland, a researcher at the University of St Andrews, says "it could be a combination of increase in presence, but it also could be a slight increase in reporting as well, thanks to social media".
The whales were captured on film swimming in the North Sea
Andrew Douglas, who runs boat tours in the area told the BBC that seeing the marine mammals on the trips, was "wonderful".
He has been doing boat trips for 30 years and said orca sightings "almost never" happened in previous years, but he did see some of them in 2025.
"It's great news for business too, the Farne Islands are a special place anyhow but these orcas are a real bonus."
Douglas thinks killer whales have been coming to the area "for years" but now they are moving in closer to the shore.