For several weeks now, the Normandy coast has benefited from a rare and impressive naval parade. After the passage of a humpback whale on March 17, it is the turn of an orca to storm the open sea of the Channel. Light on this unusual encounter.
This Tuesday, April 5, in the middle of the afternoon, Clément Thomas, professional fisherman, attended a spectacle of great beauty. At sea, the Norman came face to face with a male orca. The unusual encounter took place about thirty kilometers from the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer, in Calvados.
Clément Thomas had the reflex to film the scene, as evidenced by these impressive images shared by the Gecc (Cotentin Cetacean Study Group):
“Fishermen have been able to observe the orca for almost half an hour. They saw that he looked perfectly healthy, not emaciated and quite lively.”
the gecko
But what was this killer whale doing alone near the Normandy coast? In reality, these cetaceans are used to travel for miles, especially to eat or reproduce, especially since “The Channel is a transit zone between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean”as Gérard Mauger, the vice president of the Gecc, reminds our colleagues from 20 minutes†
It is therefore a rare but not exceptional find. According to the records of wildlife associations, one of the last sightings for the Channel dates back to 2013 between Barneville-Carteret and Jersey.
A beautiful encounter that the fisherman will probably not forget…