A group of 10 orcas has been seen leaping into the air to catch prey, delighting watchers and experts for the past two weeks

Experts and whale watchers have been dazzled by a series of orca sightings off the southern California coast that are being described as “extremely rare”.

A group of 10 whales – including a calf just a few months old – has been spotted for the past two weeks off the coast of southern California, between Oxnard and San Diego. Images from social media show the giant creatures leaping into the air to catch dolphins and coming within feet of boats full of eager viewers.

The whales are part of the population of the eastern tropical Pacific orcas that reside off the waters of Mexico and Central America, but can also venture as far west as Hawaii. Whale watching boats typically go on high alert in the months of December and January, says Jessica Rodriguez, the education and communications manager at Newport Landing & Davey’s Locker Whale Watching, but she says that catching a glimpse of so many orcas in this location is highly unusual.