I report on a group of orca ( Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)) near the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, which were a lighter coloration than orca usually seen in these waters. Differences in pigmentation included a light grey caudal peduncle area and a dorsal cape, which has previously only been described for Antarctic orca. The size and shape of the eye patches were not consistent with orca photo‐identified in New Zealand. I suggest that this group of orca, although observed in New Zealand waters, were of Antarctic origin.
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Ingrid N. Visser (1999) studied this question.
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