In a rare sighting, a pod of killer whales swam into La Jolla Cove on Wednesday afternoon and came within 30 to 40 feet of shore, drawing the attention of scores of spectators on the beach and bluffs.

“I just randomly looked out the window and they were there,” said Grant Wright, co-founder of (W)right On Communications, a public relations company at 1200 Prospect Street.

Wright shot this video and shared it with the Union-Tribune on Wednesday evening.

The pod also was seen by one of Wright’s employees, Chance Shay, who was having lunch at George’s, a restaurant overlooking the cove.


“I was in the right place at the right time,” Shay said on Wednesday evening. “I saw a big splash. I thought it might be a whale. I saw a breach, then a couple of smaller breaches. Then I saw the white spots and I thought, ‘orcas!’

“There was a mother whale. She kind of coralled the kids and headed them toward the cove. For the next 15 minutes, they were frolicking as they swam through La Jolla to the cove.

“I wondered, ‘Are we going to see a blood bath?’ because they were headed toward the seals. But that didn’t happen.

“Before long, people began lining up against the rails at George’s to watch. It was amazing.”