They’re nearly impossible to study because of where they reside, but a team of researchers has encountered what may be a new killer whale species.
In the waters off Cape Horn, about 60 miles out, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration encountered a pod of 25 orcas swimming toward them.
Known as type-D orcas, these killer whales are shorter than the mammals that frequent our waters, have a more rounded head, a pointier and narrower dorsal fin, and a small white eye patch.
The waters off Cape Horn are notorious for having some of the worst weather in the world, making studying these killer whales nearly impossible.
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Back in 1955, type-D orcas were first recorded, when more than a dozen were stranded in New Zealand.
