Rare Video: Kayakers Surrounded by Pod of Killers Whales Off the NorCal Coast

Kayakers fishing off the coast of Sonoma County were greeted by a beautiful and somewhat terrifying pod of killer whales recently. And they have the video to prove it.

Erik Marinez and Tyler Jackson travelled to Timber Grove from their homes in Elk Grove for a fishing adventure on the Pacific Ocean. They were equipped with their phones and a GoPro, and left the water with some fantastic footage of killer whales surrounding them in the water.

“They were coming up just a few feet away and you could just look them in the eye. It was kind of a crazy experience,” Jackson said to CBS13 Sacramento.

The killer whales were having a feast on a nearby seal, when before long the kayakers were surrounded by the pod. While killer whales are beautiful to see in person, anyone who knows their tendencies will get a little skittish.

“A killer whale just has that first name, you know, and that kind of sits inside as you watch it go by. And you know what that thing can do,” Martinez said.

As the killer whales surrounded them, Jackson pulled out his GoPro and got some killer (pun intended) video footage:

Seeing killer whales off the Northern California coast is quite rare. There have been documented sightings in the Humboldt area in recent years, but the mammals do sometimes look for food in areas near Monterey and up throughout the Bay Area.

While they might be intimidating up close, they are simply looking for food in the water and there’s never been a case of a whale harming a human.