CNN —New England Aquarium researchers spotted something unusual on Sunday afternoon during an aerial survey — a group of four killer whales swimming just 40 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Killer whales, also known as orcas, are more commonly seen in areas surrounding the Arctic ice-edge and the Caribbean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Katherine McKenna, assistant research scientist at the New England Aquarium in Boston, was the first to notice the group, or pod. Another atypical killer whale sighting — involving particularly large numbers — also occurred last weekend in coastal waters on the other side of the United States, in California’s Monterey Bay. “That was the best sighting I’ve seen in my 35 years of killer whale research,” Black told CNN.

---

Persons: Katherine McKenna, ” McKenna, ” Katherine McKenna, Orla O’Brien, Anderson, Nancy Black, Black, ” Black, “, CNN’s Laura Studley Organizations: CNN —, England Aquarium, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, New, Aquarium, New England Aquarium Scientists, Anderson Cabot Center, Ocean, Whale Watch, CNN Locations: Nantucket , Massachusetts, Caribbean, Massachusetts, Boston, New, United States, Monterey Bay ., Canada, Monterey, California, Monterey Bay