WATCH: Uneasy moment Orca sneaks up on ocean swimmers
A group of swimmers in New Zealand have had an unexpected close encounter after coming face-to-face with a bull Orca - otherwise known as a "killer whale".
Steven Morris from the Seamen Ocean Swim Squad in Tauranga was with his group on a two-kilometre lunchtime swim around Rabbit Island when they spotted fins in the distance.
"When I got around the back of the island I sort of swam into a lot of baby orca," he told Waikata Times.
"We thought this was all very exciting ... One of the fellas said, 'oh, they are just like big dolphins', but then a big one started towards us."
The group panicked and quickly swam back to shore, their body-worn cameras capturing the moment when fear set in.
"I want my mum!", one swimmer can be heard saying amongst much nervous laughter and swearing.
"Gets your heart pumping to see a fin that size coming towards you," another says.
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The orca stayed approximately 10-15 metres away from the swimmers, Morris said.
"It's something you joke about a bit but you never imagine seeing it up close," he told Waikata Times.
"It hasn't put us off swimming and we were back out there again (the next day) - after scanning the horizon."
