“Rare Encounter: Stag Party Witnesses Killer Whales Up Close in Southern Norway”

Heidi Larsen (35) was on a stag party on Risøya when a shoal of killer whales appeared. – Very unusual, says the killer whale expert.

On Saturday, Heidi Larsen (35) was on a hen party with friends at Risøya in Porsgrunn municipality.

When they received a tip from the mother-in-law of one of the group that killer whales were swimming in the Oslo Fjord, they ran down to the boat in the hope of experiencing the majesty up close.

What happened out in the fjord surpassed all expectations for Larsen.

– They swam right next to the boat. Some jumped up a little here and there, she tells VG.

Larsen believes she at least counted six pieces. She says that the orcas instead of swimming away sought out the boat.

– It seemed that they were a little curious sometimes. They came towards us and swam alongside the boat.

Larsen says that she has always had a dream to experience the animals.

– Ever since I was a child and saw “Free Willy”, I have had a great interest in them. They are absolutely wonderful animals, and seem very smart, she says.

After the experience, she had to pull herself together.

– I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t know what to do. I almost started laughing. It is one of the best days of my life.

– The only ones this far south

– It is very unusual to observe killer whales in the Oslo area, says one of Norway’s leading killer whale experts, Eve Marie Jourdain to VG.

She immediately knows which family it is about when VG submits the information to her. They were recently in Hardanger before they swam on to Stavanger, where she hoped to find them – without success.

Jourdain is associated with the organization Norwegian Orcha IDwhich works to map sightings of killer whales.

– I am more than frustrated now – I went back to Andenes from Oslo yesterday, she says, laughing.

The researcher agrees with Larsen’s assumption that the killer whales may have been curious when they swam towards the boat.

– This group had a new child not long ago. It was probably the mother who taught the child how close it can get to the boat, since boats are part of their natural environment. They are very smart animals, says Jourdain.

1,500 different killer whales have been observed in Norwegian waters, but this family is the only one that stays this far south at the moment, according to the researcher.

– They are probably looking for food. They go back and forth between places, but if the yield is good they can stay for a few days. Now I may have to reconsider my plans and go back to Oslo again.