Researchers from the Israeli Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center and Israel Nature and Parks Authority rangers received reports on Friday morning that a killer whale has been spotted off Israel's northern coast, near Acre and Nahariya.
INPA ranger Eyal Miller is tracking the whale's movements. The animal arrived from the direction of Iceland and at some point became separated from its pod and lost its way.
Video: Eyal Miller / Israel Nature and Parks Authority
Researchers think that the whale in question is a male known as Riptide, who in recent months has been seen off the coast of Napoli, Italy, as well as offshore of Beirut.
Marine biologist and Top Predator Project manager at the IMMRAC Dr. Aviad Scheinan told Israel Hayom that "This is a special sight. There is a reason people get excited when it comes to the most important apex predator in the ocean. This is a male killer whale that has grown to a length of about 10 meters (some 30 feet) and weighs 10 tons. This is something you see very occasionally, if at all, in our region."
