Uncommon killer whale “Old Thom” seen close to Boston swimming with dolphins in new video

There’s been one other sighting of an uncommon killer whale within the waters off Massachusetts.

Video posted Monday by Kevin DePersia, often called @drtunafish on Instagram, reveals the orca swimming with “a huge pod of dolphins” within the Stellwagen Bank, about 20 miles from Boston. Jeff Blackman, Dan Shannon and John Dentino on the fishing boat Sorry Charlie captured the video.

“Been waiting my entire life to see one,” Blackman wrote on Facebook.

Orla O’Brien, a analysis scientist with the New England Aquarium, confirmed that it’s the killer whale often called “Old Thom.”

Old Thom the Orca

According to the aquarium, Old Thom is the one orca commonly seen in North Atlantic waters. 

Unlike most killer whales that swim in pods, Old Thom is understood to swim alone or with dolphins within the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy. He is recognizable by an indent on his tall dorsal fin.

Old Thom was additionally seen on video final August about 14 miles southeast of Gloucester, and the summer season earlier than when it got here up for air seven miles off of Chatham.

Killer whales off New England

The aquarium says killer whale sightings are unusual in New England waters. In June of 2023, O’Brien stated there was an “unreal” sighting of 4 orcas about 40 miles south of Nantucket. 

The orca inhabitants is believed to be very small in western North Atlantic waters.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes killer whales as “the ocean’s top predator.” They work collectively like a pack of wolves to hunt fish, marine mammals and squid.