Criccieth Bay is well-known for its picturesque beach and abundance of sea life. Killer whales not so much.
So photographer David Silcock was left stunned after capturing what he believed was an orca on the North Wales beach. Posting the picture on Criccieth Life, he captioned it: "Is this an Orca in the Bay off Criccieth Beach?"
Speaking to North Wales Live, he said: "I saw it from the viewing point where the cars etc stop off the main road on the hill behind Dylan's (restaurant) looking towards the castle. I saw it in the bay, towards Black Rock from Dylan's.
"It was definitely bigger than a dolphin but I was that busy trying to judge when and where it would surface and so I didn't take as good a look as I could. I drove down from the viewing point and took the photo from the beach in front of Dylan's.
"It just moved diving and resurfacing from Black Rock and went past the castle, I've previously seen dolphins and either last year or the year before I saw what I thought were three or four dolphins, these were later confirmed as bottlenose whales."
Users speculated whether it was an orca, also known as a killer whale, or in fact another sea mammal such as a dolphin or seal. After examining the picture, Criccieth Life said: "Sea Watch Foundation also had a look into it - possibly just a dolphin with a larger thinner dorsal.....but you never know!".
Sea Watch Foundation said, based on the image, they believe it is either a bottlenose dolphin or Risso's dolphin. Fittingly, the picture was taken just as National Whale and Dolphin Watch week was launched.
This week, watches and surveys will be taking place across the country to create a ‘snapshot’ view of what can be seen in our UK coastal waters. Data collected will enable experts to develop an idea of the distribution of whales, dolphins and porpoises around the UK.
Species visiting the waters of North Wales ranges from basking and mako sharks to smooth hounds. They travel from the deeper waters in the Atlantic to feed on the plentiful crab and fish. Click here to find out more about the National Whale and Dolphin Watch.
