TEMPO.CO, Gorontalo - Orccinus Orca or commonly known as killer whales, can be seen roaming in the waters near Bilolandunga Village located in Gorontalo, North Sulawesi on Sunday, March 12, 2017.

Fajrah Paputungan (20), a resident of the village, claimed to have witnessed the emergence of orca whales at 08:00 Central Indonesian Time. “At the time, Tomini bay was calm, and the whales were swimming by the seashore that was not far from my house,” Fajrah said.

Even though the whale’s activities were not too distant from the village’s coastline, none of the four witnesses had the time to document the sighting.

Meanwhile, Fatmawati Paputungan (42) said that she saw the orca while she was waiting for her husband to come back from sailing.

“At first, I saw a large fin swimming in the waters outside of my house, it turned out to be paupausu,” Fatmawati said.

Deputy Secretary General of the Indonesian Association of Marine Scholars’ Central Executive Board (DPP ISKINDO), Verrianto Madjowa, explained that paupusu is what the locals of Gorontalo use to describe killer whales.

“From 31 species of cetaceans, 17 of them are orca whales,” said Verrianto, who is also conducting a research regarding the emergence of orcas and whale sharks in Gorontalo.

The initial sighting of the creature took place on February 8, 2017, in the waters of Tomini Bay by a number of divers.

On February 18, 2017, a video about an orca whale rescue in Gorontalo circulated throughout the social media sphere. In the 2 minute and 50 seconds video, a fisherman can be seen attempting to free an orca whale that was stuck in the vessel’s fishing net.

The rescue attempt was executed together with a number of fishermen onboard the vessel. The video ends with the orca successfully freed and could be seen leaving the location.

ANTARA