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WATCH: Drone footage shows Orcas hunt seals off east coast


By Alan Hendry

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Drone footage of Orcas hunting seals off the east coast has been described as "nature at its brutal best".

Sam Mackay, who captured the dramatic scenes, said he was left speechless after his encounter with a pod of at least seven orcas .

His footage shows the pod pursuing seals close to the shore and attacking a number of them.

It was Sam's first sighting of orcas and he admitted: "It was the kind of stuff you would only expect to see on the TV."

The pod is one of at least three that have been observed off the east coast of Caithness in the space of a few days.

Wildlife photographer Karen Munro, a contributor to the Scottish Killer Whale Photo Identification Catalogue, has identified it as a group known as the 27s.

The footage was taken on Monday at Freswick Bay.

Sam, who has about six years' experience of operating drones, used manual controls to track the fast-moving killers.

The 32-year-old footballer, who had a spell with Deveronvale, shared the four minutes and 35 seconds of footage on social media after a quick edit.

He said: "To get what we got on Monday it did make me speechless. They were so close in as well.

"You are in awe watching it. It is just nature at its brutal best.

"I'm delighted for everyone who got to see them. They are definitely about, so hopefully they will come back again."

Sam Mackay playing for Wick Academy against Formartine United in 2018. Picture: Mel Roger
Sam Mackay playing for Wick Academy against Formartine United in 2018. Picture: Mel Roger

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