VIDEO: Amazing rare sight as family pod of 22 dolphins are filmed on coast of Norfolk
CRUISING through the sea in a large family group, these pilot whales seem perfectly at home.
Pod of 22 pilot whales seen off the North Norfolk Coast 10 Nov 2014
They were filmed by a National Trust ranger off the coast of north Norfolk where they are a rare sight.
George Baldock saw the pod of 22 long-finned or Atlantic pilot whales earlier this week while he swas working at Blakeney in north Norfolk.
And he captured their sedate swim along the coast on film using his mobile phone and a telescope.
Pilot whales are very social animals usually travelling in stable family groups of about 20 with more females than males.
They are also often caught up in mass strandings with one known to have involved 800 whales.
The appearance of the whales so far south in the North Sea is unusual according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
A spokesman said: "In the North Atlantic they are found mostly on oceanic waters though they can be seen closer to shore. They are common off Scotland but it is quite rare for them to go this far south in the North Sea."
Pilot whales are still hunted off the Faroe Islands - which lie north of Shetland between Norway and Iceland - for their meat.
They are driven into bays and slaughtered in a bloodbath that turns the sea red. They are eaten despite medical warnings about the level of pollutants that build up in their flesh.
