There has been a rare sighting of a pod of orcas off the New South Wales Far South Coast, with a fisherman managing to capture the "special" moment on camera.
The group of about five was spotted south of Eden's Twofold Bay last week by several members of the public, including Matthew Proctor, who filmed the encounter.
The NSW Fisheries officer came across the animals while looking for a spot to cast in his line.
"It is very uncommon to see them along this coastline," Mr Proctor said.
"I've spent many hours across many years at sea and I've only encountered orcas on three occasions.
He said he enjoyed their company for 10 minutes as they headed south, with one of the females momentarily swimming upside down.
"All I saw was a white belly on the surface, and I thought that was a bit unusual," Mr Proctor said.
Bent Tip leads the way
Killer Whales Australia coordinator David Donnelly said the pod was known to researchers.
"Based on what we've seen so far we believe we know the adult male in the group, an animal known as Bent Tip," he said.
Mr Donnelly said there was still a lot to learn about the behaviour of killer whales.
"We're yet to understand what influences killer whale migration along the east coast, but for sure they are following prey opportunities," he said.
Mr Donnelly said it was exciting to see the killer whales so close to shore and encouraged people to be on the lookout for the elusive animal.
"It's so rare for people to see them at sea," he said.
"They're highly mobile animals, so it's really difficult to see them and predict where they're going to be.
"You can predict within a few weeks — but by the day, it's almost impossible."
