Australian couple film ‘Lucky’ Close encounter with a pod of killer whales

Rick Carlson and his wife were on a boat on Sunday watching dolphins and whales cruise off Narooma.

While they were on board, he received a call from his part-time employer, Narooma Montague Island Adventures, informing him that apex predators were also in the area.

Carlson told 9news.com.au they immediately headed to the site to catch a glimpse of the large black-and-white mammal.

“As soon as we arrived, we saw the definitely large dorsal fin of a killer whale coming out of the water for the first time,” he said.

“Then my wife and I spent about an hour watching whales swim right by the boat.

“When I saw them for the first time, I was simply blown away by the size and beauty of these animals.

“We also observed a pod of more than a dozen killer whales from a distance, but we were never able to get close enough to photograph them.”

Carlson added that Orca Australia identified one of the males as EA_0057. An animal regularly sighted off the southeastern coast of Tasmania.

Its “unusual” spectacle delighted onlookers.

As the name suggests, killer whales are actually the largest members of the dolphin family.

Although they are considered the apex predators of the ocean, there are no records of killer whales killing humans in the wild.