Delight over reported sighting of orca calf in pod

The newest member of the pod has not been photographed but it was reported to have been half the size of the adult females

The possible sighting of a calf among a pair of female orcas off the Isles of Scilly has sparked excitement among marine wildlife experts.

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust said boatman Joe Pender had seen the pod near Bishop Rock, in the westernmost part of the islands, on Wednesday.

A Vega pod of Iberian orcas was identified off the islands for the first time in July and they were thought then to be the last in a "very tiny family".

Jay Cowen, from the trust, said the reported sighting of a third mammal, believed to be half the size of the adults in the pod, was "very exciting news" and work was taking place to identify it.

There had been concerns the Vega pod of two adult females seen off Bishop's Rock in July would die out

"This pod hasn't been seen interacting with any Iberian orca and we were concerned it may die out," they said.

"From the report I have directly from the boatman, it was only half the size of these full-size adult females. In his eyes, it looked a lot like a calf."

The trust said it was working with marine experts around the world to compare notes and try to identify the new arrival to the pod.

It said it could be a very young orca or a calf but it was "performing some very odd behaviour".

They said: "We had rough seas yesterday in which you'd expect a very fresh calf to be surfacing a lot more often because they're only babies and need air more frequently than a full adult would. This one wasn't."

Sarah Matthews, of Dolphin Zone, who confirmed the July sighting of the Vega pod, said it was "quite an elusive pair that appears to pop up randomly in different places" and they had never been seen either with calves or other orcas.

The species typically inhabits the Strait of Gibraltar in winter.

Jay Cowen from the wildlife trust added: "This third orca is kind of perfect because it is so mysterious, as this pod of orca often is.

"I'm really hoping it's a brand new individual never seen before."