Rare photos show a pod of orcas swimming 40 miles off the coast of Massachusetts

A pod of four orcas swims in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

• New England Aquarium scientists photographed four orcas near Nantucket on Sunday.
• Orcas have been behind a spate of recent boat attacks near Spain.
• It's rare for killer whales to venture into North Atlantic waters.

Scientists from the New England Aquarium photographed four orcas swimming 40 miles off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Sunday.

They said in a press release that it's "unusual" to see killer whales in the North Atlantic as their population is very small there.

Two of the orcas shown swimming in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

Katherine McKenna, an assistant research scientist at the aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, was the one who first saw the orcas.

"Initially I could just see two splashes ahead of the plane," she said in the press release. "As we circled the area, two whales surfaced too quickly to tell what they were. On the third surfacing, we got a nice look and could see the tell-tale coloration before the large dorsal fins broke the surface."

A pod of orcas swims in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

While these orcas appeared to be swimming peacefully, killer whales can be vicious, apex predators, teaming up to devour great white sharks, seals, fish, and even blue whales.

Orcas have recently attacked boats near Spain and Portugal, and researchers previously theorized that this could be some killer whales imitating one traumatized female orca named White Gladis.

A pod of orcas swims in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

Sailors whose boat was attacked twice said the orcas seemed faster and more coordinated in April than they were back in 2020.

One expert told Insider's Kelsey Vlamis he didn't think the orcas were "attacking" the boats with the intent to harm, but it's likely a "playful activity that's gotten way out of hand."

A bottlenose dolphin swims in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium team also saw 23 fin whales, five minke whales, 62 bottlenose dolphins, and 20 humpback whales during their aerial survey.

Mother and calf fin whales swim in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium

"I think seeing killer whales is particularly special for us because it unlocks that childhood part of you that wanted to be a marine biologist," Orla O'Brien, an associate research scientist who leads the aquarium's aerial survey team, said in the press release.

Humpback whales swim in the waters off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2023. New England Aquarium