Killers have whale of a time as numbers grow

Shetland Islands Killer whales have been schooling off Shetland in record numbers, with up to 100 spotted by scientists feeding together at one time.

The lives and activities of the orcas are being catalogued by Andy Foote of Aberdeen University and Volker Deecke from the St Andrews Sea Mammals Research Unit. Their study is identifying the movements and feeding habits of the whale pods and trying to find out why there appear to have been more sightings in recent years. Some are drawn into the islands to hunt seals. One was seen bearing a fresh scar, apparently after scraping over rocks.

While accompanying a local fisherman, Mr Foote saw 100 killer whales feeding together. He was also able to identify a whale as the same one that was photographed in 1991.

One of the more frequently seen whales is Bigga, who is 7m long and was named after an uninhabited island between Shetland and Yell, to which he bears a passing resemblance. He usually lives alone, although he is sometimes to be found with a pod of five, including Busta, the leader of the group, and Ossa, the smallest member, who is thought to be either the younger brother or nephew of Busta.