A stunned couple from Shetland watched as a pod of orcas swam right under their boat.
Ryan Leith heard the the whales were swimming on the west side of the mainland and decided to head out to sea with his wife Sara to encounter them.
He explained: “My mum has a house out in Walls and we’d been out hillwalking in the morning, then we got alerts on our phones saying orcas were on the west side.
“They were heading west, and I thought it might be a total gamble, but we could go off with the boat and wait for them to turn up.
“We waited for about two hours, and we were actually on our way back when they finally appeared.”
‘I’ve been in the water with them’
The orcas, who were from the 27 Pod, came right alongside them, even going as far as to swim directly under the boat.
Despite the males being “twice the size” of their boat, Mr Leith said he wasn’t afraid after he previously swam alongside them in the Norwegian arctic.
“I’m not really scared of them, I’ve been in the water swimming with them in the arctic in Norway two years ago.
“I’ve seen them a lot before, so I wasn’t worried that they were going to tip the boat over. It’s the nearest I’ve been to them in Shetland though,” he said.
Mr Leith had brought along his camera, but after the orcas came so close to them, he was forced to switch over to his phone.
He explained: “I had my camera with me, but with the big lens they were too close, so I just had to grab my phone and do some filming, it was great.”
‘They were hunting seals’
During this particular encounter, they behaved somewhat differently from previous experiences.
Mr Leith added: “They usually just go by and head away, but they seemed to just stay in that area for a while.
“The pod split up and four of them were sort of just mulling about, I think they were probably just resting after hunting all day.
“I think they were hunting just off Burrastow, there’s a power of seals there. We’ve counted 20 in front of the house.
“They were splashing about and being more active when we first saw them, then they were very moderate, just lying on the surface not really doing much.”
How common are orcas in Scotland?
Scotland’s resident pods of orcas, also known as killer whales, can be spotted throughout the year, particularly around smaller islands in the north and west.
Shetland is known to be a favourite spot for the species to visit with regular sightings between April and October, with peaks in the summer.
However, they are known to travel further south with the Moray Firth also known to be on their visiting list.
In May this year, a pod caused a stir off the coast of Fraserburgh when they were regularly spotted in the area for several days.
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