A family of enormous killer whales were spotted drifting through the Canadian waters. False Creek Ferries released a video on social media showing the mammals gliding by high rise structures. Jack Hemsworth, the ferry’s captain said, “it was pretty surreal,” as he spoke to CityNews.

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“It was pretty crazy to see how big they really are, because they were bigger than the boat.”

Hemsworth then added that the dorsal fins of the whales sliced through the surface, startling tourists onboard. “The are so cute,” one passenger could be heard saying in the video. “They’re my favorite animal.”

Andrew Trites, director of marine mammal research unit at University of British Columbia identified the massive animals as a group of transient orcas. The family included a 26-year-old mother and her three babies.

“They’re on the hunt, and so they don’t want to make a big splash about it. They want to come in very stealthy-like, as though they weren’t even there,” said Trites as he spoke to Global News.

“I’m sure there were hundreds of people walking along the seawall that day and they didn’t even notice and these people aboard the boat. they had a very special moment they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

According to Trites, researchers are receiving increasing reports of killer whales being spotted in previously uncharted territory.

Killer whales have been observed in False Creek before, most recently in 2019, while a grey whale swam all the way to the inlet’s terminus, at Science World, in 2010.