Orca delight at Northland's Mangōnui Harbour - hunting just metres from the shore

Two orca swim in Mangōnui Harbour. Photo / Rachel Doughty

A pod of orca have put on a show hunting for stingray very close to the edge of a Northland harbour.

The orca stirred excitement on the evening of December 29, with many people running to the Mangonui Harbour edge to watch the display.

The harbour has a long history of maritime activity, including yachting, fishing and swimming - Mangōnui translates to 'large shark'.

Frequent Mangōnui visitor Sean Brown said the orca calls caught his attention and it was the first time he had ever seen orca in the harbour.

"We heard them kind of breach and then yeah, just saw them swim past."

Brown said he saw four orca, but only two were caught on camera.

"They were pretty close, 50 metres in fact."

They swam in the harbour for a few minutes, giving Brown enough time to notice the damaged dorsal fins on two of the orca.

"One (fin) was chopped right off. One was severed by something which was quite unusual and made it a bit sad to be honest."

The orca visit was captured in a video taken from the upper deck of the Mangonui Hotel.

In the video people are seen lining up along the waterfront, watching and filming the orca just metres away.

Founder and principal scientist of Orca Research Trust, Northland's Dr Ingrid Visser, said the two orca with damaged fins were Funky Monkey and Pickle, recognisable by their unusual dorsal fins.

"I know these orca very well ... they are presumed brother and sister, Funky Monkey and Pickle."

Sibling orca Funky Monkey and Pickle both have damaged dorsal fins. Photo / Rachel Doughty

Funky Monkey is identifiable by his zigzag-shaped dorsal fin, while the top of Pickle's fin is missing from unknown trauma.

"They were in the Mangōnui Harbour hunting rays. I can clearly see the ray hunting behaviour and then just as they go out of sight Pickle is seen to approach and swim alongside Funky Monkey – they will be food sharing at that point," Visser said.

Visser said food sharing is common in socially advanced species such as orca, even after they learn to hunt for themselves.

Funky Monkey and Pickle are often spotted swimming together, including when Funky Monkey became stranded in Whangārei Harbour in October 2020.

"He has been re-sighted a number of times since then, each time still travelling with Pickle," says Ingrid.

During orca season pods of the marine mammals - they are technically not whales, despite their 'killer whale' moniker - can be seen regularly up and down the Northland coast.

They are seen often in Whangārei, and other Northland harbours, tucking into the large number of stingrays that had come into the harbours to feed.

Orcas have a lot of characteristics in common with whales, but taxonomically (the study of the general principles of scientific classification), they're dolphins.

What to do if you see an orca?

If you spot an orca, please call 0800 SEE ORCA or 0800 DOC HOT.

Rules on sharing the ocean with orca:

• Do not swim within 100m of an orca.

• Your vessel should not be within 50m of a killer whale.

• There should be no more than three vessels within 300m of any marine mammal, additional vessels may watch from 300m.

• Do not circle them, obstruct their path or cut through any group.

• Operate your boat slowly and quietly at 'no wake' speed when within 300m of an orca.

• Avoid sudden noises that could startle the animals.

• The penalty for breaching regulations is a $10,000 fine and the maximum penalty for harming marine mammals is two years imprisonment or a maximum fine of $250,000.

It is illegal to enter the water with the intention to swim or dive or snorkel with orca, in New Zealand waters. Visser has a special permit issued by the Department of Conservation to conduct her research.