UK's only resident killer whales spotted in Cornwall

The killer whale known as Aquarius was spotted off the west coast of Cornwall

The most southerly sighting of the UK's only resident family of killer whales has been made, experts believe.

The two whales were spotted off the west coast of Cornwall on Wednesday in the first confirmed sighting in over a decade, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said.

Killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family.

Marine conservation officer Abby Crosby said the "rare and beautiful" creatures, also known as orcas, were identified through photographs.

John Coe is another member of the Scottish 'West Coast Community' pod of eight orcas

The orcas spotted, named John Coe and Aquarius, are part of the 'West Coast Community' - a pod of eight distinguishable by their unusual sloping eye patch and larger size.

The group is made up of four males and four females and normally resides in the Hebrides in Scotland.

The trust said this "may possibly be the first record of the UK's only resident population of orcas travelling this far south in Great Britain".

Ms Crosby added: "This is the first official orca record in our databases with associated photos in over a decade, and further proof of the value of our coastal seas in supporting these magnificent creatures."

'Huge wake-up call'

Although they are regularly monitored, some individuals have not been seen in recent years and no calves have been observed since monitoring began in the 1990s.

According to the Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust's website, the pod faces the risk of extinction as a direct result of human impacts.

This includes exposure to high levels of now-banned PCB chemicals which have caused poor health and infertility within the pod.

Ms Crosby added: "This pod, and the issues it faces with infertility and future extinction, should be a huge wake-up call to the public that we must protect these creatures better in our waters."