SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - This weekend, local whale watchers got a rare treat. They got to see a killer whale swimming off our coast.
Amazing photos taken during Saturday's San Diego Whale Watch excursion, several miles off the coast of Mission Bay, show the killer whale up-close.
The killer whale, which was swimming with a pod of common dolphins, is believed to be the same one that was spotted on Thursday near the Coronado Islands.
The orca has been nicknamed Mel, in honor of Melissa Galieiti - the naturalist who first spotted the whale off the coast of Mexico a year ago.
"Every time we've seen him, he's been not too far from this pod of dolphins. So whether he's befriended them or if he's just sticking around waiting to pick one off for a lunch snack, I don't know. We haven't actually seen him in a feeding display to know that for sure."
The whale watching boat followed Mel for about an hour before it swam off.