For the first time ever, scientists on a research mission in the stormy waters off the coast of Cape Horn, Chile, found and studied the mysterious Type D killer whale in the wild.
Robert Pitman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it is "highly likely" these animals are a new species of orca. The killer whales were spotted in January in a region that has the "world's worst weather," Pitman told National Geographic. The Type D killer whales have proven elusive; experts had never seen any live and had to rely on the few amateur photos taken of the orcas and descriptions from fishermen.
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Pitman says there are noticeable differences between Type D killer whales and other known orcas: Their white eye patches are a lot smaller, their heads are more rounded, their dorsal fins are pointier and narrower, and they are much shorter in length. They've been hard to study because they live in subantarctic waters. "If you're a large animal trying to hide from science, that's exactly where you'd want to do it," Pitman told National Geographic. Catherine Garcia
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