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Mullin didn't have to look twice: Hall was right about seeing killer whales, although he couldn't tell by the video how many were near Hall's boat, he said in an interview with AP. The Shady Lady sighting "created a stir" over killer whales in the Gulf of Mexico, Mullin said; about 80 people attended the informational meeting he held in Orange Beach last week. Gulf orcas are just like the ones that live in cold water, Mullin said, save for their diet of dolphin and tuna instead of seals. Male killer whales average 20 feet in length and weigh as much as 12,000 pounds, but females are smaller. Fifteen groups of killer whales have been sighted in the Gulf since deep-water surveys began in 1992, he said. Past estimates have varied widely, from a low of 49 to a high of 277 living in the Gulf north of a line extending from Key West, Fla., to Brownsville, Texas. The actual number of killer whales in the Gulf could be closer to 500, Mullin said, and a two-month expedition this summer could help nail down an answer. The trip was planned independently of the boat's sighting, he said. Either way, Hall's glad Mullin's outfit is involved. He knew what he saw, but he was still happy to get confirmation that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
[Associated
Press;
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