Killer Whales Australia confirms orcas spotted off the Fraser Coast

A spokesperson for Killer Whales Australia said on Friday they had confirmed almost a dozen of the mammals took a tour of the ocean side of K’gari (Fraser Island). This is what we know.

Killer whales have returned to Fraser Coast waters, with experts saying a pod paid a visit to the region last week, the first confirmed sighting of the species in almost a decade.

A spokesperson for Killer Whales Australia said on Friday they had confirmed almost a dozen of the mammals took a tour of the ocean side of K’gari (Fraser Island).

The pod, believed to have been made up of 11 of the whales including two calves, was captured on film swimming in the ocean while headed south.

In a Facebook post confirming the sighting, Killer Whales Australia said it was looking to whether the whales were repeat visitors.

A pod of killer whales has been confirmed to have visited the Fraser Coast for the first time in a decade after being sighted off Fraser Island.

David Donnelly from Killer Whales Australia confirmed the group was investigating whether the pod spotted off the coast of Fraser Island was the same one that got stranded in the Great Sandy Strait in 2013.

Mr Donnelley visited the scene after two killer whales died on Bookar Island and five others were left stranded on a sandbank at Sheridan Flats in 2013.

A third whale was later discovered dead but the five other whales were able to be successfully refloated.

The pod stayed around Little Woody Island for several days following their rescue, monitored by Queensland Parks and Wildlife.

It had since been spotted twice in southern waters, including at the Gold Coast, Mr Donnelley said.

He said he and other experts would need to examine the photos and footage that had been submitted to try to determine if it was the same pod that had returned.

He said he had an “inkling” it could be, as killer whales did not tend to hang around in large groups and this one was at least 11 to 12 whales, similar to the pod that found itself in trouble in the Great Sandy Strait.

Mr Donnelley said it would take some time to match the animals to the pod spotted this week, saying that particular group was not “immediately recognisable”.