Could killer whales be returning to the Solent?

THE Solent seal colony had better be on the lookout because the oceans’ ultimate predator could be returning to our waters.

Killer whales – normally found in Scotland’s cooler waters – are increasingly being found off the south coast of England.

Scientists believe the black and white creatures, also known as orcas, are being lured by recovering fish stocks and say they could be lurking in the English Channel.

So far this year they have been recorded as far south as the Isles of Scilly and off the Kent coast in Folkestone.

Marine biologist Andy Foote, from the University of Aberdeen, is monitoring Britain’s killer whale population.

He said killer whale sightings in the Solent were frequent in the first half of the last century and one had even been harpooned in the River Itchen.

“They are pretty adaptable, as a species they are doing quite well and are found from pole to pole and everywhere in between. This is because they are very innovative and are able to come up with new hunting strategies,” Mr Foote said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they go through the English Channel occasionally, but I don’t imagine it is a common occurrence.”

Killer whales have no predator, apart from humans, and tend to feed on herring, mackerel or large sea mammals, Mr Foote added.

“There is certainly reports of killer whales off Cornwall and they tend to follow basking sharks and there are certainly basking sharks in the Solent, so it is definitely not out of the question,” he said.

“It would be a rare event, but I would not be surprised if one or two killer whales did go through there during the year.”

In August, a bottlenose whale that had become stranded on a mudflat in Langstone Harbour, near Portsmouth, was put down after an unsuccessful rescue attempt.

Jolyon Chesworth, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said there had been no sightings of killer whales in our waters.